Bhubaneswar, Sept 6: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Saturday staged a six-hour bandh in Khaira block of Balasore district, demanding that the area be declared a Notified Area Council (NAC). The bandh, observed from 6 am to 12 noon, saw markets and business establishments remain completely shut, with active participation from local residents and elected representatives of several panchayats.

The agitation was led by BJD Balasore district president Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi, who accused the state government of ignoring Khaira’s development needs. He recalled that Khaira had been granted NAC status during the tenure of former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, but its name was dropped in the latest list of NACs announced by the current government.

“This exclusion is unjustified. If the government does not fulfill our demand within the next eight days, we will launch an intensified agitation across Khaira block,” Panigrahi warned.

Supporting the demand, Zilla Parishad Zone-4 member Rashmita Mohapatra and several locals stressed that Khaira, with 37 panchayats under its jurisdiction, deserves NAC status for better governance and infrastructure.

Earlier, the Swabhiman Manch had also staged a separate bandh on September 3 over Khaira’s exclusion, intensifying local anger on the issue.

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