Bhubaneswar: A dawn-to-afternoon shutdown disrupted life at Salepur in Odisha’s Cuttack district on Tuesday.
The BJD had called for an eight-hour bandh, pressing for inclusion of the region in the list of notified area councils (NACs). The demand gained momentum after the Mohan Majhi government issued a draft notification on August 16, proposing to constitute 12 urban bodies in seven districts in the first phase.
Salepur, however, did not figure in the list.
The protesters led by Salepur MLA Prashant Behera, blocked the Cuttack–Chandbali highway at Kuapal Chhak. Shops, markets and several educational institutions remained closed and streets wore a deserted look. Public transport services also remained off the roads.
Locals also joined the protest at several places. “People of Salepur have been demanding an NAC status since the 1980s. 40 years later, Naveen Patnaik granted this wish. Unfortunately, the current dispensation undid that progress and announced 12 new NACs, excluding Salepur,” the local MLA said.
The BJP, on the other hand, has dismissed the street protest as a strategy to deflect attention from governance issues. “The BJD government was in power for 24 years. In all those years, announcements were made with little progress. The double-engine BJP government is working hard to fulfil the promises made to the people of the state. A total of,21 NACs will be formed. While 12 will be developed in phase 1. Salepur will be included in the next list. The BJD is only protesting for the sake of politics,” said State BJP Kisan Morcha Secretary Satyabadi Chaini, .
