ANGUL: The district unit of BJD on Friday resorted to a two-hour blockade on NH-55 at Police Training College chowk here protesting the delay in the expansion of the Cuttack-Sambalpur national highway and alleged apathy of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) towards the displaced people in Talcher.
All local officer bearers of BJD including MLAs participated in the blockade which was staged from 8 am to 10 am. Angul BJD president Mahendra Bastia alleged that people are suffering due to the delay in the expansion of NH-55 linking Cuttack to Sambalpur. Started in 2016, the NH expansion works should have been completed within three years. However, the works are still underway due to which accidents are taking place on the route frequently.
Talcher MLA Braja Pradhan claimed that MCL was doing nothing for the rehabilitation and resettlement of the people displaced by its mines. Besides, the company was not carrying out the decisions of the Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC), he alleged.
Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on NH-55 due to the blockade. MLAs Mukesh Pal, Ramesh Sai and Susant Pradhan along with all the block presidents and municipality chairperson of BJD joined the protest.