Even as Youth Congress members tried to enter the Chief Minister's residence, Naveen Nivas, on Thursday ahead of the Congress-called Odisha bandh on Friday, Twin City Commissioner of Police Dr RP Sharma said that security would be tightened in the twin city of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar to make the bandh incident-free.
Youth Congress activists came in a bike rally starting from the Congress Bhavan to Naveen Nivas, where they staged a demonstration over mismanagement in the Brahma Parivartan of deities in the Puri temple. They also waived placards and shouted slogans demanding resignation of law Minister Arun Sahu.
The youths also burnt effigies of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the law Minister. Police made some preventive arrests to stop the youths from breaching the three-layer security ring of the CM's residence, sources said.
Anticipating trouble on the day of Odisha bandh, the Commissionerate Police decided to deploy a total of 30 platoons of policemen in the twin city.
Dr Sharma said security for the Chief Minister's carcade and residence has been enhanced along with the security of law Minister Sahu and Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Dasburma's residence.
Two platoons of policemen would be deployed near Sahu's residence and the road to it would be sealed. Security arrangements have also been made for Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Suresh Chandra Mohapatra's residence in the city.
Sources in the CHSE (Council of Higher Secondary Education) said the Plus II instant examination scheduled for Friday would be held on Saturday, June 27. Besides, all examinations of Utkal University and Berhampur University and all colleges under their jurisdiction scheduled for Friday have been postponed. The authorities of these two universities would announce the next date of the examinations later.
The PG Entrance Test of the Ravenshaw University, also scheduled for Friday, has been postponed to June 29.Besides, the Board of Secondary Education has postponed the general science examinations slotted for Friday to June 29, said its president Prof Dakshya Prasad Nanda.