Angul: Normal life has been thrown out of gear on Thursday following a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by the Angul Zilla Janajivan Surakhsha Committee.
Barring essential services, all trading establishments remained closed while vehicular traffic came to grinding halt during the bandh.
The agitators took out rally in the town and picketed at several major squares and staged dharna.
The Committee has demanded fulfillment of its 4-point charter of demands which include control of pollution by the industries in the district, completion of the government medical college and hospital at Talcher and its operation to be managed by the government from this year, conversion of the district headquarters hospital to a super speciality hospital and filling up of all vacant posts of doctors, nurses and other technical staff at all primary health centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in the district.
“Neither the state government nor the Centre are keen to address the alarming pollution by the industries in the district. We had reminded the Centre and the State Government in this regard on several occasions. Besides, we have also met the state Health and Family Welfare minister to take immediate steps to ensure early completion of the government medical college and hospital which is under construction at Talcher and take charge of its management to provide better healthcare services to the patients who have been seriously affected by the pollution. But there has been no response from the concerned minister till date. Hence protesting the gross apathy of the state government towards the people of Angul district, we have given the bandh call. We will intensify our agitation in the coming days if the state government fails to address our demands at the earliest, said a member of the Committee.
