Normal life was disrupted in Koraput district of south Odisha on Wednesday due to a dawn-to-dusk bandh call to protest against killing of five innocents, including a 13- month- old child, in Kandhamal district by policemen on July 8 during an anti-Maoist operation.
The bandh call had been given by ‘Jana Surakshya Manch’, a common platform of several tribal, Dalit and social organisations of the district. As per reports, vehicular traffic was almost off the roads in most parts of the district during these 12 hours. Private vehicles also remained off road. Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) buses also suspended its services. The corporation had stopped plying its buses in the Naxalite-infested areas of the State during ‘martyrs’ week’ and Wednesday was its last day. No passenger buses travelled in Koraput district till evening. Several cargo carrying trucks were stranded at Sunki and Semiliguda during the 12- hour-bandh.
Activists of the manch demonstrated and picketed at several places of the district like Semiliguda, Pottangi, Sunki, Jeypore, Koraput town etc. Although the organisation had declared that educational institutions would be spared from the bandh call, most schools and colleges remained closed. Examinations in some institutions continued uninterrupted. Banks, shops and other trading centres remained closed through out the district. There was no impact of the bandh on emergency services like medical centres and ambulances.
The demonstrators demanding enhancement of compensation for the family members of the five innocents killed in Kandhamal district and action against the police personnel involved in the shoot out.
