Vikash Sharma

The residents of Bhubaneswar were left shell-shocked after some obscene videos allegedly popped up on the screens of digital kiosks installed at several places in the smart city Bhubaneswar on Saturday night.

Sources said porn videos got screened on the smart kiosks for nearly 10 to 15 minutes. It created an embarrassing situation for the passers-by or those standing near such kiosks at the public place.

“I was waiting to catch an auto near the City bus stop at Raj Mahal square when I saw some obscene pictures started popping up on the screen. Only the authorities can say how such content was screened on the digital kiosks,” said Dilip Kumar Nayak, a driver.

Nayak further said that as night curfew restrictions are now in place, crowd is usually less on the street. Had the incident occurred during any other time of the day, it would have created embarrassing situation for many, he added.

Abhimanyu Sahu, another auto driver said, “A lot of people had gathered near the kiosk and on enquiring, I got to know that some obscene content was displayed on the screen.”

It is pertinent to mention here that such digital kiosks were installed to create awareness as well as to share information about various government-related schemes to the public. The hi-tech system is being managed under the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited.

However, it is still unclear how such obscene videos got displayed on the digital kiosks. The authorities in-charge of the digital kiosks could not be contacted for their version on the alleged lapses.

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