Orind agitators granted bail, 18 walk free

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ROURKELA: Despite the stalemate over the defunct refractory plant Orind, bail has been granted to all the 224 fasting jailed agitators. With the documentation work still underway, only 18 including Birmitrapur MLA George Tirkey walked free on Monday night. Reports said a panel of seven lawyers led by Rourkela Bar Association president Ramesh Bal successfully moved bail pleas and the court granted release order to all the booked in two  cases. In fact, the release was facilitated with tacit support of the police who did not oppose the pleas. Bal said the court asked each of the agitators to deposit Rs 5,000 and a surety bond.  The latest development was a big relief to the administration under two-pronged attack with the jailed employees of Orind refusing food and their dependants, including children and women, blocking NH-23 at Lathikata till Monday evening. Earlier, on Sunday night around 16 employees were rushed to the Rourkela Government Hospital and on Monday nearly three dozens were treated for failing health. Meanwhile, RN Pali MLA Subrat Tarai on Monday said the BJD supported all legitimate demands of Orind employees and hoped the high-level meeting on Wednesday would resolve the crisis.Properties of Orind chairman Ravin Jhunjhunwala will be attached as a final resort to pay employees’ dues and re-run the plant, he added. In a parallel development, banks have issued notices to auction plant properties in November to recover loans to the tune of around Rs 70 crore.