Internet services restored, curfew relaxed in violence-hit Odisha’s Sambalpur

The Odisha Government on April 23 lifted a curfew during the daytime and withdrew a ban on internet services in Sambalpur city which had recently witnessed violence during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations, an official said.

The Odisha Government on April 23 lifted a curfew during the daytime and withdrew a ban on internet services in Sambalpur city which had recently witnessed violence during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations, an official said.

Internet services were fully restored after 10 days, while the administration relaxed the curfew from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., he said.

These decisions were taken after "significant improvement of the law and order situation" in the Western Odisha city, the Sambalpur district official said.

Internet services were suspended on April 13, while the curfew was imposed the next day in the wake of a clash between two groups during the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations.

Later, broadband and leased internet services were resumed between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., but the suspension of mobile internet was extended till April 22.

The administration had also come out with a toll-free number for the public to report "circulation of inappropriate messages or posts carrying hatred speech or false news".

The western Odisha city had witnessed a clash between two communities during a motorcycle rally in the run-up to the Hanuman Jayanti on April 14.