Rail, road services partially affected

Bhubaneswar: Theday-long Bharat bandh called by some Dalit and Adivasi groups to protest against the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SCs) partially affected rail and road communications in Odisha on Wednesday. Government offices, banks, business establishments and educational institutions functioned normally, police said.

The Home department, in a note on Tuesday, “ .... advised officers and employees of various departments working in the State secretariat and heads of department building to reach office by 9.30 am.”Security had been beefed up in the State secretariat, heads of department building and other important places in the State.

The agitators detained trains at Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur while passenger buses did not operate on different routes. The protesters also staged demonstrations in different places and blocked several roads including national highways.

Theagitators detained Visakha Express at Bhubaneswar railway station for some time. They also blocked Sambalpur-Puri and Sambalpur-Rayagada trains at Khetrajpur station in Sambalpur. However, the train operation became normal after the police evacuated the agitators from the track.

Reports of road blockade were also received from Cuttack, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Malkangiri, Sundargarh, Keonjhar and other places.

Twenty-one organisations across the country called for Bharat bandh against the Supreme Court order, which they have said will harm the basic principles of reservation.