Following is an excerpt from New Indian Express on this.

… the High Court on Wednesday asked the State Government to initiate stringent action against road blockades.

A division bench of Justices B P Das and M M Das directed that the Government make adequate provision in laws for realising the cost of damage caused to public and private property from persons staging road blockades. The recovery can be done under the Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act, the bench stated.

Expressing concern over students’ rising propensity to violence, the court also called for amending the Orissa Education Act so that they can be made accountable for the acts of organising road blockades and causing damage to public or private property. Their acts should be reflected in their conduct certificates, the court said.

Instructions should be issued to school and college authorities to obtain undertakings from parents or guardians that they would pay up for the loss caused by their children or wards while indulging in such activities.

Along with these stern directives, the bench directed the Government to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation to one Chambara Soy of Gobarghati village in Jajpur district for his son’s death. Soy could not take his son to hospital in time due to the Kalinga Nagar road blockade. The amount may be recovered from persons involved in blocking the road, the court said.

The ruling came in response to the petition filed by Soy early this year seeking adequate compensation, action against persons carrying out the blockade and also against officials who did not act on his FIR after his son’s death.

The Home department, Collector and SP of Jajpur have been ordered to take effective steps on the FIR lodged by the petitioner at the Kalinga Nagar police station.

Earlier, in the process of hearing, the court had instructed collectors and SPs in the State to place before it the number of road blockades and such acts organised in their areas between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2006.

The affidavits filed revealed a total of 523 incidents within the period. Most of the reasons, as examined by the court, were found to be flimsy.