Nabarangpur, Jan 30: Normal life in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district was paralyzed after the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, launched a 12-hour bandh protesting against the delay in land acquisition by the State government for the Jeypore-Nabarangpur railway project.
Though the Centre had granted money for the railway project eight years back, the State government is yet to acquire land for the same. It has caused an inordinate delay to the project, alleged the agitators.
They also demanded the recognition of two of the oldest colleges in the district—Nabarangpur College and Pendrani College at Umerkote as government colleges.
The protesters have called for a shutdown of all the offices and educational institutes in the district as part of the dawn-to-dusk bandh. The effect of the bandh was seen in major towns of the district including Umerkote where the shops remained closed and roads wore a deserted look as vehicles remained off-road.
However, emergency services like medical and fire services have been exempted from the purview of the bandh.
