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The Odisha Congress organised a torch rally ahead of the Odisha bandh called by the Congress and INDIA bloc, while the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate said around 150 officers would be deployed to maintain law and order during the shutdown on Thursday.
Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das appealed to people to support the bandh, describing it as a fight to protect constitutional and land rights. I humbly appeal to the people of Odisha to support our democratic Bandh tomorrow. This is a fight to protect our constitutional rights and the rights over our land, Das said on Wednesday. He also appealed to party workers to ensure that the shutdown remained peaceful and democratic while respecting the law. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Vice President Santosh Singh Saluja appealed to people to cooperate with the bandh and alleged that democracy was being undermined through vote theft. The Congress and INDIA bloc have called for a bandh in Odisha tomorrow. We appeal to every individual to cooperate tomorrow and make the bandh a success. In the country, the republic is being murdered through vote theft, Saluja said. Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Suresh Devdutt Singh on Wednesday said extensive security arrangements had been made for the bandh. Several opposition parties called for an Odisha bandh tomorrow, which also includes our Bhubaneswar-Cuttack region. Extensive police arrangements have been made to maintain law and order during this bandh tomorrow, he said. The Police Commissioner said efforts had been made to ensure that demonstrations remained peaceful and within the constitutional and legal framework. Special arrangements have been made, in particular, to ensure the smooth functioning of the national highway, railway lines, and all such routes. Around 150 officers will be deployed for this, he said. He said the police would ensure that essential services were not affected and that people did not face difficulties in accessing hospitals and other necessary services. The Commissioner appealed to political parties to exercise their democratic rights peacefully and within the law, adding that maintaining peace was the responsibility of the police. Meanwhile, the bandh call is being observed in Sambalpur on Thursday and is likely to affect normal life across the city, with markets, schools and colleges remaining closed. The bandh is also likely to affect operations at Sambalpur Railway Station, where Congress workers reportedly stopped the Sambalpur-Puri train as part of their protest. Congress leaders and workers were seen participating in the bandh and appealing to people and business establishments to support the shutdown. (ANI)
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