The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : Normal life hit, thanks to the rally

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Thursday, Dec 27, 2007
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Normal life hit, thanks to the rally

Staff Reporter

Biju Janata Dal workers occupy every conceivable space in the State Capital

BHUBANESWAR: The Capital witnessed unprecedented gathering of BJD workers, who descended on the city from different parts of the State, choking the city life for almost 12 hours on Wednesday.

The assembly that was organised to celebrate the 10th year of the BJD saw a congregation of over 2.5 lakh supporters. Every conceivable space in about 50 square km of central Bhubaneswar was occupied by workers. The party’s banners turned the city green.

Several supporters were injured in separate accidents while they were coming to the meeting venue. When a BJD activist suffered severe injuries after an auto-rickshaw hit him along the Mahatma Gandhi Marg early in the day, the vehicle was reduced to a rubble by a group of supporters. Despite a few minor incidents, the rally passed off peacefully.

Chaos

Perched on buses and trucks, supporters started arriving to the ground of Capital High School in Unit-9 area, throwing traffic rules into the winds. Though the city police prepared a blueprint to manage the crowd a week ago, everything plunged into chaos on the D-Day.

According to a conservative estimate, more than 1,000 buses and trucks entered the city limits carrying party supporters.

Moreover, some 10,000 cars and jeeps were used for the rally, which was widely dubbed as a show of strength of the BJD after the opposition Congress held a 40,000-strong farmers’ rally in Sambalpur.

The traditional dances of different parts of the State added colour to different rallies proceeding towards the meeting place. Banners were printed with names of legislators, constituency and photograph of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Camels and chariots driven by horses were main attractions of the rallies.

While joyous slogans and assembly of huge crowds brought a sense of completion among leaders, the day’s event forced most residents of Bhubaneswar to stay inside the houses.

Litter everywhere

Their lanes and by-lanes were invaded by party workers to park vehicles. Open spaces were converted into dining halls. Cacophony along with stink generating from waste materials littered by party workers polluted the environment.

Situation turned worse towards the evening when the meeting was about to end. Those who were returning from offices faced a Herculean task to make their way to their houses.

“I reached home four hour late. Usually, I cover the distance within 20 minutes,” Sukanta Rout, a State government employee, said.

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