Odisha: Mayurbhanj Bandh On May 15 To Protest Blackout During President’s Address At MSCBU

Baripada: A social outfit has called for a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on May 15 to protest blackout during President Droupadi Murmu’s convocation speech at the Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University (MSCBU) recently.

The 12-hour bandh, called by Bhanja Sena, will be observed from 6 am to 6 pm on May 15. The bandh will be observed across  Mayurbhanj district, according to Bhanja Sena leaders.

Lamenting that the auditorium of the university plunged into darkness when the President was delivering her speech at Baripada on May 6, they said the incident was an insult to Murmu, who hails from Mayurbhanj district.

Therefore, a bandh will be observed for 12 hours throughout the tribal-dominated district as a mark of protest and to demand stringent action against those responsible for the incident.

The President, who was on a three-day visit to her home district Mayurbhanj, was delivering the 12th convocation address at the auditorium of the university on May 6 when the lights went off for nine minutes.

While an employee of the university was suspended a three-member committee was constituted to probe the incident. The state government has also ordered a probe into the episode