Protesters block road for 3 hours over canceled cricket tournament | Bhubaneswar News

Bhubaneswar: Emotions often run high in India when it comes to cricket. And in a bizarre turn of events on Sunday, more than 200 people, some holding cricket bats and wickets, blocked the busy Laxmisagar restaurant in the city for about three hours due to the cancellation of a local tournament.
Police reports indicate that the dispute took place when local residents questioned the guest list for the cricket tournament. They insisted on including a local politician among the guests.
A senior police officer said: “This led to an altercation between the tournament organizers and a group of locals. Subsequently, all hell broke loose, resulting in the suspension of the cricket match. It was a small dispute, but several injured people blocked the national highway due to the interruption of the match.”
The police authorities struggled to convince the demonstrators, who demanded the continuation of the tour. “We have been organizing and playing cricket here for the last 40 years. We were hurt after the match was called off. We need an explanation,” said Akhaya Das, a protester.
Nirod Samantray, another agitator, said, “Cricket organizers have started a controversy by trying to politicize the tournament.”
Hundreds of vehicles and commuters were stranded due to gridlock on a busy stretch of NH-316 connecting Bhubaneswar with Puri.
Amid accusations and counter-claims, many stranded travelers, including tourists, tried to persuade protesters to end the blockade. “We were the worst sufferers. For such a small problem, the locals made a mountain out of a hill. I was stuck for three hours. I also saw an ambulance stuck in traffic,” said Jayant Naik, a commuter blocked. .
Senior police officers rushed to the spot to negotiate with the protesters, leading to a heated exchange of words between them. After three hours of persistent negotiations, the protesters ended their strike and finally cleared the road.