Phulbani: Tension flared up near Majumaha village under Raikia Police limits here on Thursday after a group of locals staged dharna on the road accusing another community in the village for denying them rights in cremating a local resident in the graveyard.
As per reports, the relatives of Gondala Digal who passed away Wednesday evening were taken aback when they were barred to cremate his body in the village grave yard by members of Kui (Tribal) community.
Digal's family members alleged that the other group of villagers deprived them from performing the last rites citing the graveyard as their own property.
Soon anxiety erupted in the village as the dejected relatives of the deceased placed the body on road blocking communication from both ends.
Manita Nayak, a Ward Member at Majumaha village said, "It has been more than 18 hours, we are waiting to cremate our dead. We have no other option than to resort to protest because the graveyard is situated in a disputed land and the authorities are not keen to resolve our issue as well."
"We have been burying our dead at that graveyard from ages. Now the BDO is prohibiting us to use the graveyard possibly fearing a backlash from Kui community, " she added.
Till the last reports came in, the BDO of G.Udayagiri and Raikia Police reached the spot to pacify the agitators but were unable to make any headway into the case.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)