As many as 99 villagers of Belabahali were arrested and sent to the Keonjhar jail following their clash with police on Tuesday which was triggered by a dispute on construction of a river bridge.A meeting of the local villagers was held on Wednesday noon to condemn the police action and prepare for a mega protest against construction of the bridge at a new site.
Senior Congress leader Jayadev Jena visited the village and criticized the Naveen Patnaik Government for the anti- people attitude. Former PCC president Nirajan Pattnaik also condemned the police action on public and demanded release of the arrested villagers immediately.
While the incident has sparked a political slugfest, no peace talks has been initiated yet with the agitating locals.
Northern zone RDC MVS Rajput accompanied by Collector N Thirumalla Naik, SP Kavita Jalan and NHAI ED V Durgaprasad visited the spot on Wednesday afternoon to inquire about the field realities. After visiting the proposed bridge site and holding discussion with the district administration and NHAI authorities, Rajput opined that the proposed site for the bridge is the best site.
The Kusei bridge will be constructed on the selected site, the NHAI authorities informed. Meanwhile, police force has been withdrawn from the area, but resentment of the public protesting the bridge construction at the present site is on. The arrest of the villagers has added fuel to the fire of public anger, said sources.