The 12-hour bandh observed by BJP in protest against the Mahakalapara girl’s pitiable death passed off peacefully here. However, normal life was severely affected as the people were unaware of the bandh.
The BJP activists made picketing at all the important points of the district headquarters, including at the railway station, the National Highway and the State Highway and stopped the Sambalpur-Puri intercity express that left Sambalpur almost by two hours late. While all the Government offices remained closed due to the second Saturday, the business organisations and banks remained shut down for the whole day. Vehicles also remained off the road. Nauri Nayak, Girish Patel, Rudra Sarangi, Sabita Nanda and all other senior leaders of the district led the bandh.
Police took all precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incident. Massive police forces were deployed at all sensitive points. SDPO PK Mahapatra said no one was arrested and the bandh was peaceful. The BJP also observed the bandh in Bargarh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda and all other parts of western Odisha.