Bhubaneswar: Normal life was hit in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Friday in response to a dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the Kandhamal Vikash Parishad demanding railway connectivity. Several organisations have supported the bandh call.
The bandh was effective in Phulbani, Baliguda, K Nuagaon, Raikia, Kotagarh, Tumudibandha, Daringbadi, G Udayagiri, and Tikabali.
All business establishments, private offices, and educational institutions remained closed for the day, while public transport vehicles were off the road lending the streets a deserted look. The bandh supporters also staged demonstrations, and blockades, and resorted to picketing.
The bandh supporters are opposing the revised location survey map for the Gopalpur-Sambalpur railway line prepared by the Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development Limited (ORIDL) as it has excluded Phulbani.
Originally, the initial location survey map proposed to connect Berhampur, Aska, Kandhamal, and Sambalpur but the revised map shows the railway line bypassing Phulbani. It now proposes connecting the Bolangir-Khurdha Road railway line near Madhapur via Bhanjanagar.
