ROURKELA: Tension prevailed at Bileimunda in Sundargarh’s Hemgir block on Friday after locals staged protest with the bodies of two accident victims demanding compensation and measures to curb frequent mishaps on Taparia-Gopalpur road.
Police said two motorcyclists Kedar Kalo (43) and Loknath Majhi (32) were crushed to death by a road trailer near Bileimunda fuel filling station in the afternoon. As the news of the fatal accident spread, irate villagers gathered on the spot and blocked Taparia-Gopalpur road demanding compensation for the bereaved families.
The agitators also kept the bodies of the two victims at the protest site and demanded construction of a separate corridor for transportation of coal by heavy vehicles from the mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) to Chhattisgarh.
Due to the agitation, hundreds of coal-carrying trucks were stranded on both sides of the road. On being informed, Hemgir police rushed to the spot and held discussion with the agitating villagers. Till reports last came in, the protest was continuing and officials of the local administration were trying to persuade the villagers to lift the road blockade.
Earlier on November 1, five persons were killed and as many sustained injuries when their van rammed into a stationary road trailer on Taparia-Gopalpur road. Following the mishap, irate locals had disrupted traffic for 18 hours over similar demands.
On November 10, villagers had disrupted vehicular traffic on Bankibahal-Kanika route for 24 hours after a person was killed in a road mishap. The road is used by heavy vehicles for transportation of coal from MCL mines to Kanika railway siding.