Sambalpur: The Sambalpur district administration on late Sunday announced partial relaxation in curfew in the region on Monday to enable people to buy essential items from the market.
The Sub-Collector of Sambalpur issued an order on Sunday night that read that curfew will be relaxed for four hours in the morning and two-and-a-half hours in the evening during which people can go to markets to buy vegetables, rations and medicines.
“There will be no curfew from 7.30 am till 11.30 am and then from 3.30 pm till 6 pm on Monday,” read the order.
Curfew was relaxed in the city on Sunday to help ASO and CDS aspirants to appear for the competitive examinations. Curfew was relaxed from 7.30 am to 10.30 am to enable the movement of candidates to test centers and the prohibitory orders were relaxed from 4 pm to 6 pm in the evening for the return of examinees to their homes.
Notably, prohibitory orders under Section 144 (1) of the CrPC have been in force in the entire municipal corporation area since last Friday following communal violence over Hanuman Jayanti celebrations on Thursday.
The district administration has restricted gatherings, meetings and other community activities in view of the tense situation continuing for the last four days.
Meanwhile, no untoward incident was reported from the region during the last two days. However, arrests of mischief-makers and others who were found to be involved in the violence continue. Earlier, the district administration had arrested 79 people and forwarded 26 of them to court. Six more arrests were made on Sunday taking the total arrests to 85.
Although the curfew has been relaxed, Internet services remain suspended for the fifth day today.
