Bhubaneswar: Amid heightened tension after Tuesday clashes, the Khurda administration has imposed Section 163 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in Begunia-Ostapur-Kotapalla Bazaar to maintain law and order in the area.
Though normalcy has been restored, a platoon of police force is still deployed to prevent any flare-ups.
Several people were injured and three to four shops were gutted as fresh clashes erupted between the residents of Ostapur and Kotapalla villages under Baghamari police limits on Tuesday night over a long-standing boundary dispute. Even a CCTV camera installed by the police to monitor the situation was damaged in the incident, Khurda SP Vivekananda Sharma told reporters.
The area witnessed fresh violence weeks after the prohibitory orders, which had been in place for nearly three months to prevent hostilities, was lifted. The dispute pertained to installation of a signboard marking the boundary between the two villages and escalated further over the naming of a local bus stand, according to sources.
After the previous instance of violence in August, a meeting was organised by the sub-collector between the representatives of the two villages and peace was restored, an administrative official said, adding similar action has to be taken again.
Police have appealed to residents to maintain peace and cooperate with the law enforcement agencies.
