KalingaTV News Network
Bhubaneswar: A 6-hour ‘chaka jam’ call given by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) against rising fuel price hike in the country, paralysed vehicular movement across the Twin City Cuttack and Bhubaneswar starting from the morning today.
Contrary to the OPCC President Niranjan Patnaik’s yesterday’s statement that the protest would be peaceful and voluntary one, the Congress workers resorted to widespread violence at several key junctions in the Twin City and forced people to not ply their vehicles till 12 noon. They also resorted to road blockade by burning tyres and holding picketing.
In Bhubaneswar, the Congress workers stopped vehicles at Vani Vihar and Rasulgarh Squares and threatened people against commuting. By resorting to sloganeering they even forced trucks and buses to stop on both sides of the highway for hours starting from the early morning which resulted in a traffic chaos.
Similarly, ‘chakka Jam’ supporters attacked a government ITI college student near Gopalpur bridge for not keeping his vehicle off the road during protests. The victim sustained head and hand injury in the attack.
“I was heading towards Gopalpur bridge when a group of Congress workers intercepted me. After reprimanding me for not supporting the bandh and using abusive language against my parents they thrashed me mercilessly. I have lodged a complaint at the Mahupatana Police Station in the case,” said Ranjan Swain, the victim ITI student.
Being queried on the protests, the OPCC President said the ‘chakka Jam’ is aimed at making people aware of the unusual hike in the fuel price across the country. While the Central Government can put the fuel price under check by slashing the excise duty the State Government can do the same by providing a cut in the 26% VAT currently functional.
The Commissionerate Police has made ample security arrangements for the ‘chakka Jam’ protest and deployed 25 platoons of armed police force in the twin city.
Kalinga AI