A demonstration in progress on Mahatma Gandhi Marg on Monday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: The winter session of the Assembly starts 10 days from now, but Mahatma Gandhi Marg, the city’s equivalent to Delhi’s Boat Club, is already bustling with activity.

Activists keen on grabbing the attention of lawmakers have already launched protests on a variety of issues along the road that runs upto Master Canteen Square, the busiest traffic intersection in the city.

While one group of agitators led by the National Confederation of Dalit Organisations have blocked the MG Marg for the last three days, five other groups have joined the protest bandwagon to raise their grievances.

With protesters laying siege to the MG Marg, police have cordoned off the road and vehicles are been diverted through service lanes on both sides of the stretch.

“As the protesters have occupied the road, we are forced to close it on both sides and divert the vehicles through the services and colony roads in Unit II and III. This situation may continue till the end of the Assembly session,” said deputy superintendent of police, Bhubaneswar, Satyabrata Bhoi.

While commuters appreciated the authorities for ensuring traffic flow on the service lanes on both sides of MG Marg, they, however, complained about the condition of the under construction road connecting the old bus stand to PMG Square. Heaps of building material lying on the road has made the stretch a nightmare for commuters.

“Driving on this road is very difficult as construction on both sides of the road is incomplete. Once the Assembly session begins, it will be even more difficult for people to drive on this road,” said Renuka Padhi, a local resident.

Officials of public works department (PWD), who have been undertaking the four-laning of the road running parallel to Sachivalaya Marg, said that the work had been affected due to delay in removal of electric poles and construction of drainage chambers.

“We have finished work on one side of the road, while construction on the IG Park side is taking time. We are trying to finish the work by the time the Assembly session starts,” said a senior officer of the PWD.

The commissionerate police have erected 11 barricades on MG Marg between Master Canteen Square and lower PMG Square to prevent violent protesters from breaking the police cordon and entering the prohibited area as they did several times in the past. Out of these 11 bamboo barricades, eight run between the dharna spot and the lower PMG Square. The police camp has been set up near the dharna spot, where officials keep guard round the clock.

A senior police officer said that they would leave no stones unturned to ensure foolproof security for the Assembly session.

“We will also install close circuit television (CCTV) cameras along the MG Marg to keep an eye on protestors and trouble mongers,” said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.

However, a decision about the quantum of police deployment around the Assembly will be taken later.