ROURKELA: After almost 18 hours of stalemate, traffic was restored on the busy Taparia road in Hemgir block after the Sundargarh district administration agreed to the demands of the agitators.
Hemgir tehsildar L Mohanty, BDO Biswanath Sahu and SDPO Himanshu Behera among others held prolonged discussions with the protesters at the site where five people had died in a road mishap near Goikanpali. The protesters relented after receiving written assurance from the officials.
They said after discussions, the local truck operators’ association agreed to pay ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the deceased’s families. This apart, Rs 20,000 will be given to the kin under the Harischandra scheme for cremation of bodies. It was further agreed that the administration would also ensure compensation for the bereaved families under the Financial Assistance to Road Accident Through Heavy Vehicle scheme.
Behera said it was decided to restrict movement of heavy vehicles between 9 am and 10.30 am and 4 pm and 7 pm on the road. On the demand for setting up an independent coal corridor, the agitators were assured the collector would convene a meeting on November 10.