The western Odisha town of Kantabanji in Bolangir saw another dawn-to-dusk bandh on Tuesday with the Zilla Sangarsha Samiti launching the protest demanding separate district status.
As per reports, the bandh was enforced at 6 am today and will continue till 6 pm.
Normal life has been thrown out of gear as the members of Kantabanji Zilla Sangarsha Samiti were seen picketing at strategic locations from early in the morning.
All the shops, markets and other establishments have remained closed. Vehicular movements on all roads including Kantabanji-Bolangir, Kantabanji-Khariar have come to a grinding halt. However, emergency services have been kept out of the bandh purview.
“We want Kantabanji to be declared as a revenue district. The bandh has been called from 6am till 6pm today. More than 30 different organisations and all the political parties have come in support of this bandh. If the government does not announce it a district soon, we will intensify our protest,” said the president of Sangharsh Samiti.
Notably, the samiti had observed bandhs earlier as well on July 18, March 25, November 24 and September 5 demanding a district tag for the area. Since the government is paying no heed to their demand, the samiti is observing a bandh once again, said a local.