Padampur: The Zilla Gathan Kriyanusthan Committee is today observing a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh in Padampur region of Odisha demanding district status for the area.
Shops, business establishments, offices, banks and educational institutions remained closed in view of the bandh call by the outfit.
Vehicular movement was also affected due to the bandh.
However, the agitators excluded emergency services from the ambit of the bandh.
“Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had promised to declare Padampur as a district by the December of 2023. He had made the promise before the Padampur bypoll. However, he didn’t keep the promise. This has hurt the residents of the region,” an agitator said.
Worth mentioning, the Orissa High Court has restricted the state government to form new districts without the court’s permission.
Hearing a petition filed by Akshaya Kumar Mohanty, President of Rairangpur District Kriyanusthan Committee, a High Court bench comprising Justice BR Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman said, “This Court feels it necessary that the process of re-organization of district, which the State Government wants to undertake, may continue but no final order shall be passed without leave of this Court.”
