12-hr Congress bandh affects life in Sundargarh

Sundargarh: Normal life was affected at many places in Sundargarh district today due to a 12-hour bandh called by the Congress in protest against the barrage proposed to be constructed by Chhattisgarh government on the Ib river and demanding distribution of ration cards to eligible beneficiaries.

Shops and other business establishments remained closed while vehicular traffic movement was disrupted on account of the bandh. Keeping in mind the bandh, police have beefed up security across the district to prevent any untoward incident.

The bandh call has been given by the the district unit of Congress as a mark of protest against the plans of the Chhattisgarh to construct a barrage over Ib river, a tributary of Mahanadi, in the upper catchment area.

“Water will not come to lower catchment areas due to the proposed barrage. We will face a lot of difficulties due to this,” president of Sundargarh District Congress Committee Dusmanta Kumar Naik had said while making the announcement about the bandh call yesterday.

Violence was reported during the bandh when some Congress workers started picketing and shutting down shops and other establishments. This led to clash between shopkeepers and Congress activists at a daily market in Rourkela.

Meanwhile, around 20 platoons of police force were deployed at Rourkela to avoid any untoward incidents during the 12-hour bandh. The police detained a total of 10 persons, including the Congress district president.