Bhubaneswar: The Yuva Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is today observing a 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district, opposing the delay in land acquisition by the Odisha government for the Jeypore-Nabarangpur railway project.
The protesters staged road blockade at various places in Nabarangpur town, including on NH-26 near Majhiguda. Hundreds of vehicles remained stranded on both sides of the road due to the blockade as vehicular movement was severely affected.
They were seen picketing at various locations in the district, calling for the closure of offices and educational institutions as part of the bandh.
Shops and business establishments remained closed in view of the bandh observance. However, emergency services have been excluded from the ambit of the bandh.
The protesters alleged that despite the Central government allocating funds for the railway project eight years ago, the State government has failed to secure the necessary land, causing significant delay in the project’s execution.
They also demanded the State government to officially recognize Nabarangpur College and Pendrani College at Umerkote as government colleges.
The BJP workers threatened to gherao the Odisha Legislative Assembly if their demands are not addressed within a month.
