Bhubaneswar: Tension prevails in Jharpada area of Odisha’s capital following an eviction drive at the daily market near Ganesh Mandap on Friday morning.
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded after angry vendors and their families hit the streets and blocked the Golei Chhak on the Cuttack-Puri Road near Laxmisagar. Later, BJP workers too joined the protesters.
The protesters burnt tyres and sat on the road, alleging that the eviction drive was carried out in revenge as a BJP candidate had become the area corporator in the recent ULB elections.
According to reports, there was also a clash between the police and protesters. The protesters alleged that the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), which carried out the evection drive, informed them about it only on Thursday night.
“The BMC served the notice on Thursday night. My husband had a stall in the market. It was our only source of income,” a protester said.
Twelve platoons of police have been deployed in the area.
