BMC to remain unaffected for polls
Keeping in view the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on Wednesday, the State Congress unit, which has decided to launch a hartal on Tuesday, said it would exempt the BMC area.
“We have decided to exempt the city from the January 7 hartal due to the elections. However, at certain places, the party would hold demonstrations in the Capital on the day,” said PCC president Jaydev Jena.
Business establishments and educational institutions across the State would remain close on Tuesday.
Bank, bus and train services will also remain shut due to the hartal, said a party leader, adding, “The dawn-to-dusk hartal will be a peaceful one and nobody will be forced to participate in it.”
The hartal is necessary as it will make people of the State aware of the colossal loot of minerals during the rule of the BJD Government and failure of the ruling dispensation to protect the loot, said the PCC leaders.
Ahead of the CMC elections next month, the Congress in Cuttack wants to cash in on the Tuesday’s hartal.
The Cuttack city unit of the party has decided to picket in front of all Government offices, schools and colleges, banks and insurance offices in the city here from 6 am to 6 pm on
the day.
“We would also picket peacefully on the national highway, railway tracks and other major roads in the city. Our party workers would also move around the city urging the business and commercial establishments to down their shutters for 12 hours on the day,” said city Congress president Md Moqim.
While the State Government has not announced closure of the schools and colleges in view of the hartal and has instructed the authorities to take appropriate decisions as per the situation, the teachers as well as the students are in a dilemma over their classes on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the private bus owners’ association has decided to stop plying of buses on the day. “No private bus would roll from the Badambadi bus terminus between 6 am and 6 pmon Tuesday. However the night coaches would run as usual”, said a member of the association here.
looking at the preparedness of Congress for the hartal, the city police too have geared up to maintain the law and order on the day. “Adequate police arrangements have been made,” said a staff in the DCP office here.