Balangir: Grieving family members and local residents of two road accident victims staged a road blockade by placing the bodies of the deceased at the junction of national highways 26 and 59 at Belgaon in Balangir district on Tuesday. A hit-and-run accident claimed the lives of two youths on NH-59 on the Chormara Bridge near Belgaon under Saintala police station limits on Monday evening. The deceased were identified as Shubham Kumbhar (19) of Titilagarh and Sagar Nag (18) of Belgaon.Reports indicate the pair was sitting by the broad highway when an unidentified car ran over them and fled. Both victims were rushed to Titlagarh sub-divisional hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Following post-mortem examinations, family members and local residents blocked the highway. They burned tyres on the road, demanding adequate compensation for the bereaved families and immediate arrest of the driver. Senior officials reached the spot and held talks with the protesters.The blockade was withdrawn after the administration provided a written assurance of compensation of Rs 20,000 from the Red Cross, Rs 2 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, 4 decimals of land under the Basundhara scheme, and Rs 4 lakh each under the unidentified vehicle accident clause to the families of the deceased. “We pacified the protesters, and the administration assured compensation as per govt provisions. Traffic flow returned to normal after the blockade was cleared,” said Yashobant Pradhani, sub-divisional police officer, Titlagarh.
