Bandh Disrupts Normal Life In Odisha’s Kandhamal Over Rail Link

Phulbani: Normal life was disrupted in Odisha’s Kandhamal on Friday due to a dawn-to-dusk shutdown demanding immediate steps to provide railway connectivity for the district.

The 12-hour bandh, called by Kandhamal Vikas Parishad, has been supported by different organisations to press for railway network in the district at the earliest.

The impact of the bandh was felt in different parts of the district, including Phulbani, Baliguda, K Nuagaon, Raikia, Kotagarh, Tumudibandha, Daringbadi, G Udayagiri and Tikabali, sources said.

Shops and business establishments remained closed during the bandh, while vehicular movement came to a halt as the agitators staged road blockade at various places and resorted to picketing.

Residents of the district are up in arms after the revised location survey map for the Gopalpur-Sambalpur railway line, prepared by the Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Limited (ORIDL), reportedly omitted Kandhamal. This is being strongly opposed by the locals.

The initial location survey map had proposed to connect Berhampur, Aska, Kandhamal, and Sambalpur. However, the revised map featured a change in the route, with the line now bypassing Phulbani and connecting to the Balangir-Khurdha Road railway line near Madhapur via Bhanjanagar.