Nuapada: Hundreds of villagers on Friday sat on a dharna in front of a country liquor unit at Sarabhang demanding shifting of the liquor den.
Sarabhang sarpanch Bharatlal Rout led the agitation, in which residents of four villages namely, Lanjimar, Bhainsmundi, Maulibhata and Ratapali took part. They shouted slogans against the den owner and demanded its shifting. Following a meeting at the Nuapada police station between the police, excise officials and the villagers, the dharna was withdrawn in the afternoon.
The villagers have been demanding shifting of the unit as it is located at an area, where hospital, schools and weekly market are situated. Tukeswar Yadav, a samiti member of Nuapada block said: "People of nearby villages throng Sarabhang in large numbers for its close proximity to Nuapada town. But they face lot of inconvenience due to the liquor den, which has turned out to be the hub of goons. We had requested the district administration to shift the den several times in the past, but to no avail.
Later in the afternoon, a meeting was convened at Nuapada police station where police officials, excise officials, the magistrate and representatives of the agitators discussed the issue. The meeting felt that the demand of the villagers was genuine and justified in view of the location of the unit.
Nuapada police station inspector-in-charge Bibekananda Mohanta wrote a letter to the district superintendent of excise, requesting him to take steps for shifting of the unit.
Rout said the administration agreed to the demand of the villagers to shift the unit. "The meeting was fruitful as everyone in the meeting realised that the demand was genuine and justified. The police have written to the excise superintendent to shift the liquor den. We are happy with the outcome," he said.
Couple die
A newly-married couple committed suicide by allegedly consuming poison due to a family dispute at Dhamnagar in Bhadrak district on Thursday night. The incident took place in Shyampur village and the deceased have been identified as Satyaranjan Tripathy and his wife Purnima Das.
