Normal life was disrupted in Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Rayagada districts of Odisha on Tuesday because of a dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by a joint working committee of lawyers of these districts demanding establishment of a permanent bench of the Orissa High Court in undivided Koraput district.
‘Extreme need’
Several areas in these four tribal-dominated south Odisha districts are almost 500 kilometres from the Orissa High Court in Cuttack. The JWC said a permanent bench of the High Court for south Odisha was an extreme need and demanded that it should be established at any place in undivided Koraput that included these four districts. Members of the JWC alleged that their long-standing demand was being ignored by the government.
Owing to the bandh call, markets, business establishments, banks and educational institutions remained closed in most parts of these districts. Vehicular traffic was affected as all passenger vehicles remained off road. Emergency services were kept out of the purview of this bandh call.
Despite rain caused by cyclone Phethai, the lawyers came out to block roads and picket before government offices in these districts. All courts in these four districts could not function due to the agitation of the lawyers. But no untoward incidents related to the bandh were reported from any place.
Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati and former Minister and BJD leader Rabinarayan Nanda have extended their support to the demand of the lawyers.
