Mayurbhanj: A local organisation of the Kudmi community named the Kudmi Sena on Tuesday called a 6-hour shutdown in Odisha’s Malkangiri district to press for their demand for tribal status.
The bandh received a mixed response as vehicular traffic was off the road and many business establishments downed shutters. Highways were blocked and supermarkets remained closed.
The effect of the bandh was most in four sub-divisions of Mayurbhanj – Baripada, Kaptipada, Pachupadi and Bamanghati where the Sena members set up road blockades and organised pickets at various points. The agitators also blocked the National Highways 18 and 49 bringing the traffic to a standstill.
At Baripada Palabani, a road blockade was set up under the leadership of Kudumi Sena state president Jaimuni Mahanth.
Mahanth said that if the government did not fulfil their demands even after today’s six-hour shutdown, the organisation will intensify their movement for tribal status to members of his community.
