West Odisha lawyers resume strike

Lawyers in western Odisha resumed their protest today over demand for a permanent bench of the high court in the region after a gap of 15 days. The agitation was suspended from September 1 to 15 in view of the Nuakhai and Ganesh Puja festivals.

The Central Action Committee (CAC), a forum pressing for the HC bench, said all government offices in the region will remain closed till September 30.

The CAC has also given a Western Odisha Bandh call on September 19, coinciding with the date of elections for 66 urban local bodies in 21 districts. The State Election Commission (SEC) has postponed elections in 9 western districts in view of the law and order situation there.
 

Dinesh Jain, president, Jharsuguda Bar Association said, "The CAC has decided to observe bandh on September 19 in protest against the state government's apathetic attitude towards our genuine demand for a permanent high court bench. We will again paralyse all government offices in the region."

The CAC would convene a meeting of the MLAs and MPs of the region at Sundargarh on October 6 to discuss the future course of action, he added.

Advocates of Jharsuguda, Sundergarh, Kalahandi and Deogarh district protested in front of their respective district courts and did not let the government employees join their duties. In Sambalpur, the relay dharna started by lawyers from August 20 was carried out by Bramhin Mahasabha today while all government establishments in the district remained shut. In Bolangir, the lawyers have not joined court proceedings since September 2.