Policemen push a protester away while a bulldozer demolishes the structure at Baramunda on Tuesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 27: Tension erupted at Baramunda today with angry residents blocking the National Highway 5 (between Chennai and Calcutta) in protest against the eviction drive on the Biju Patnaik field located opposite Baramunda bus stand.

Hundreds of vehicles were stranded with men and women of Baramunda village blocking the highway for more than 90 minutes this afternoon.

A joint eviction drive by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the general administration department was going on in the presence of police to demolish illegal constructions on the field. A small building, which was used as a cement storeroom and a Durga puja mandap, had encroached on government land, where the sports department has proposed to build a sports complex and a sports hostel.

The general administration department had handed the seven-acre plot to the sports and youth affairs department in 1991. The authorities could not begin work on the projects because of the encroachments. Consequently, the department decided to remove the encroachments.

The villagers claimed that the field had been taken care of by their youth associations. The authorities did not inform them before carrying out the eviction. They claimed that they had been using this field for ages and even the annual Durga Puja was celebrated there.

“While allotting the land to the sports department in 1991, the Biju Patnaik government had given the youth association the job to take care of it. Accordingly, we constructed the boundary wall and the association building in 2005. Government officials had inaugurated it. Whenever the government decided to have any programme on the ground, it used to seek our permission. But now, they are conducting the demolition drive without bothering to inform us,” said Bijay Paikary, a member of the association.

However, the demonstrators could not produce any document to substantiate their claim. The new BJD councillor of the area, Sujit Kumar Swain, led the protest despite the BMC being involved in the drive.

The general administration officials said since the structure was illegal, they were not required to serve any kind of notice.

The villagers initially opposed the drive by protesting on the spot and tried to lie in front of the bulldozers to stop them. When the police shooed them away, they rushed to the highway and began attacking people there. They manhandled motorists, pelted stones on the buses and hit the vehicles with sticks and rods. Even ambulances were not spared.

While all these happened, the eviction team demolished the structure and left. But the protesters continued to block the highway. The sports and youth affairs officials had to give them written assurance that they could use the field whenever they needed. The road blockade also hit the traffic inside the city with vehicles stranded at all traffic squares along the national highway. Eventually, deputy commissioner of police Nitinjeet Singh convinced the protesters that they would arrange a meeting of the local people with the sports and youth affairs department officials. Only then did the agitators end their protest.

Later in the evening, some villagers met the sports department officials. But the government stuck to its plan and gave them verbal assurance that the villagers could use the field.

“We are not happy with the discussion and we will decide over our future course of action later. It’s the question of the interest of the villagers and the authorities should take a proper decision,” said the councillor.