Bhadrak bandh for Medical College

The Manch members decided to go ahead with the bandh after their two-month long agitation demanding Medical College and Hospital in Bhadrak fell on deaf ears.

BHADRAK: Normal life in Bhadrak district was hit on Monday as members of Bhadrak Swabhiman Manch observed a 12-hour dawn-to dusk bandh demanding establishment of a medical college and hospital.

The Manch members decided to go ahead with the bandh after their two-month long agitation demanding Medical College and Hospital in Bhadrak fell on deaf ears. Supporting the bandh, people from all walks of life joined the strike.

While schools, colleges, shops and other business establishments remained closed, movement of vehicular traffic was disrupted, particularly in Bhadrak town.Communication to and outside the district came to a standstill as agitators blocked National Highway-16 for several hours. They also staged rail roko at Bhadrak station disrupting train services too. The request of Collector Gyanaranjan Das to allow movement of hundreds of trucks and tourist buses stranded on the highway, too went unheard.

However, ambulance and other emergency services like petrol pumps and medicine stores, were excluded from the ambit of bandh.Only a few emergency offices, including Collectorate, were open. The movement for a medical college will continue and take a violent turn if the Government does not consider our demand, said former MLA Naren Pallai.Bhadrak SP Rajesh Pandit said the bandh was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported.

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