Balasore: Residents of the town blocked the main road connecting St. Vincent Convent School and Town police station in protest against the slow pace of drain work and dumping construction materials on roads.

Traffic on the stretch was disrupted for around four hours between 7am and 11am. Ambulances and patients were allowed to pass. The agitation was called off following intervention by the district administration and police.

"The road blockade was lifted after the works department assured the protesters that the work would be completed within a month and the materials lying on the road either lifted or kept in order," said Balasore tehsildar Rashmi Rekha Pradhan. "The works department has committed to this in writing."

Protester Girija Shankar Das, said: "We staged the road block after giving a month's notice to the department."

Executive engineer (works) Mahesh Mohanty said: "Around 300m of drain work is left. Hopefully, we'll finish it in a month. Extra construction materials would be removed from the roadside."