Bhubaneswar, Nov. 13: Commuters had a harrowing time this morning when hundreds of protesters blocked the road at Master Canteen Square demanding land patta for tribals.

The protesters, under the aegis of the National Confederation of Dalit Organisations, blocked the road for two hours when police stopped them from marching to Naveen Nivas, chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence.

Hundreds of protesters, most of them Dalit and tribal women, have been demonstrating along Mahatma Gandhi Marg leading to the Assembly since November 7, demanding land pattas to Dalits and tribal people.

The police later diverted the traffic through side roads.

“Everyone has the right to protest, but the way they blocked one of the major roads in the city is not justified,” said Arabind Mohapatra, a local resident.

Commuters had to suffer further when all service roads also became congested. Despite the presence of a platoon of police at the place, the agitators continued their protest on the road.

“I had to reach the BJB College to pick up a friend. But, the road was jammed, and I was forced to take an alternative route and got delayed,” said Saheed Nagar resident Swaraj Rout.

Co-ordinator of the protesting organisation’s Jagatsinghpur unit Sanjay Ghadei said they had been demanding allotment of land, along with pattas to Dalits and tribal people.

“Without land pattas, the Dalit families are unable to apply for caste certificates. They are also deprived of government benefits for not having a caste certificate,” said Ghadei.

During every Assembly session, commuters in the city experience a harrowing time passing through the Master Canteen roundabout and other nearby areas. The winter session of the Assembly will begin from November 20.

“We will deploy more personnel to ensure smooth traffic flow during rallies and protests,” said assistant commissioner of police (traffic) Jatindra Kumar Panda.