Odisha villagers block key road after bus mows down two

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Balangir, Apr 13:

Irate residents of Malmunda village under Puintala block in Odisha’s Balangir district have blocked the Balangir
–Subarnapur road stopping vehicular movement following a mishap in which a biker and his pillion rider were killed.

The ill-fated bike, which was coming from the Balangir end of the National Highway 57, was hit head on by a private bus named Rajnigandha coming from Subarnapur side in the opposite direction.

While the biker was killed on the spot, his pillion rider succumbed to his injuries at the Balangir district headquarters hospital. While one of the two killed in the accident is from Sindhekela area, the other is from Jharbolangir.

Irate villagers first pelted stones at the errant bus to bring it to halt and then torched it after forcing passengers to alight from the bus.

The situation remains  tense while police have reached the spot and are trying to convince the agitators to vacate the road block.

Scuffles between the police and the agitated villagers have been reported.

The villagers were angry as the police reached the place very late despite the accident spot being hardly at a distance of five km from the district headquarters town.

The blockade by the villagers was on despite heavy rains lashing the area at the time of filing of this report.