Balangir: The stir over the demand for a permanent bench of Orissa High Court in western Odisha has intensified in Balangir district. On its third day on Wednesday, the agitators stopped District Collector Arindam Dakua from entering his office.
According to sources, irate lawyers stopped Dakua from entering the Collectorate. He was scheduled to attend a video conference session with Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi. The court, tehsil and district collector’s office have been closed from Tuesday to December 10. The Balangir Lawyers’ Association and Central Action Committee (CAC) observed a 24-hour bandh in Balangir on December 3. Government and private offices, educational institutions, market and business establishments had downed shutters owing to the bandh.
Political leaders cutting across party lines, public and labour associations and social organisations have been supporting the strike. Around 200 organisations have supported the bandh in the district. However, emergency services like health and ambulance service were kept out of purview of the bandh.
The 48-hour ‘Maha Bandh’ on November 29 and 30 had affected normal life in Sambalpur, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur and Sundargarh districts. The CAC of All Western Odisha Bar Association (AWOBA) had called for the bandh, demanding a permanent High Court bench in western Odisha.
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