Koraput (Odisha), May 9 (PTI) Normal life in Odisha's Koraput district came to a standstill on Tuesday as Congress called a 12-hour bandh over a host of demands, including a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) at Jeypore and appointment of locals in government departments.

Shops, markets, offices and educational institutes remained closed across the district, officials said.

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As vehicular movement came to a grinding halt, the roads wore a deserted look. Tight security arrangements were made throughout the district to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh, police said.

The impact of the bandh was felt across the district, particularly in Sunki, Chandili, Kotpad, Borigumma, Jeypore, Lamtaput and Pottangi.

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Police said hundreds of vehicles were stranded on National Highway 26 as agitators blocked it.

Jeypore's Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said that with over 20 central offices in the district, the establishment of a KV is a long-standing demand of the people of Jeypore.

He said that as a state-level recruitment is made to the posts of 'Sikhya Sahayaks' and those in the Health Department, students of the district remain unemployed.

"Koraput being dominated by people belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, a majority of them fail to compete in state level examinations, and are deprived of government jobs. We urge the state government to make district-level appointments to vacant posts," he said.

A candidate from outside the district gets the job, and once they are appointed, they request for transfer to their home districts, and the posts in Korapur lie vacant, Bahinipati said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)