Life is slowly returning to normal in violence-scarred Cuttack with the curfew being lifted and Internet services restored on Tuesday.

Residents stepped out to shop for essentials and small knots of people were seen socialising on the streets. The Cuttack Municipal Corporation has engaged hundreds of staff to clear the roads of the debris from the flare-up.

The administration had imposed the curfew after back-to-back clashes on Saturday and Sunday in which 31 people, including 10 police personnel, were injured and many shops gutted or damaged.

On Friday night, an immersion procession was passing through a Muslim locality near Dargha Bazar when chants of “Jai Shri Ram” and loud music appeared to touch a raw nerve. Words, and then a hail of stones, were exchanged.

On Sunday, police and Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers engaged in a pitched battle when the cops tried to stop a bike rally of more than 2,000 VHP activists. The rally had been organised ahead of the VHP’s bandh call in the city on Monday to protest Friday night’s violence.

Police commissioner S. Deb Datta Singh told journalists on Tuesday: “Following the clash, restrictions were imposed to maintain peace. No untoward incident was reported during the curfew. The 36-hour curfew ended at 10am today. The situation looks normal now and is being closely monitored.”

The police commissioner said patrolling would continue and forces would remain deployed at strategic places. “The pattern of deployment will be different, considering the demand of the situation,” Singh said.

There was a heavy police presence at Dargha Bazar, with barricades still in place. Senior police officers are camping at Dargha Bazar.

The police on Tuesday arrested a person in Bhubaneswar on the charge of making derogatory social media posts against a particular community during the flare-up.

After the curfew was lifted, people were seen coming out of their homes to purchase essentials. “There was a massive rush at the vegetable markets. The prices of vegetables have gone up. But there is no option but to buy vegetables,” a resident said.

“We are happy that the curfew has been lifted. We have no personal enmity with anyone,” said Dipak Das, a medicine shop owner.

"Internet services have been restored. Now I am able to use WhatsApp and Facebook,” said Sradha Sampurna, an employee working at a government organisation.

Senior Congress leader and former Cuttack-Barbati MLA Mohammed Moquim said: “The city is known for its spirit of brotherhood and harmony. The series of events since the idol immersion procession has been disturbing for us. All efforts should be made to restore normality. No force must be allowed to vitiate Cuttack’s long-preserved culture of peace and amity.”

Stating that criminals had no religion, Moquim said: “The violence that the city witnessed in the past three days is unprecedented. It threatened to ruin Cuttack’s secular culture, which, incidentally, is most palpable during Durga Puja when Muslim artisans fashion attractive backdrops for the deity. These medhas are made from zari threads. Sometimes, pure silver is also used.”