Hundreds of ruling BJD protesters led by party Rairakhol and Sambalpur MlAs Rohit Pujari and Dr Raseswari Panigrahi on Monday staged a demonstration in front of the Mahanadi Coalfields ltd (MCl) head office at Burla for refusing to support the State Government’s subsidised Aahar scheme. BJD workers also protested at MCl’s mines at Talcher affecting production and transportation of coal, sources said. The agitators protested against the company’s decision to pull out from its agreement with the State Government for the Aahar scheme. As agitators locked the premises, the employees who had come to join their duties had to leave for their homes without attending to their duties. “We will continue with our agitation till the management revokes its decision,” said Pujari. The State Government had sought financial contribution from the MCl and other State and Central public sector undertakings to Aahar for urban poor. The scheme is scheduled to be launched on April 1. Under the scheme, rice and dal curry would be served daily to around 25,000 urban poor at Rs 5 per meal in five cities.
