Drought Situation: Odisha Congress calls 12-Hour Deogarh Bandh

Bhubaneswar, Nov 2: Normal life disrupted in Deogarh as Odisha Congress unit called dawn-to-dusk bandh on Monday. The district Congress leaders called the strike demanding the state government to declare the entire district as drought-hit.

Odisha Jana Morcha (OJM) has joined the strike called by the Congress leaders. The people of the district too supported the strike as it’s in the interest of the affected farmers of the district.

Most of the commercial establishments, shops were remained closed in the district. Many passengers stranded on roads as vehicles ply was also stopped since morning. The district Congress leaders have protested at government offices, however, the work at government offices were disrupted for some time. Schools were remained closed in the district.

In order to check any adverse situation during the bandh, the district administration has deployed police force in sensitive areas. There were no reports of violent incidents till the report is filed.

Notably, the Chief Minister has declared Mayurbhanj as drought hit during the launching ceremony of digitised ration cards on Oct 29. As per government reports, around 41 farmers in the state were committed suicide due to crop loss. And, the state government has declared 17 districts as drought affected districts.

Prior to this announcement, a central team visited drought hit areas in the district and submitted a report over the drought situation in Odisha to the Union government.