Jane Agosta, who took part in one such protest, told CBC News that she came out in support of her child, who she said is currently transitioning. Ms Agosta said she wanted to speak out against the inflammatory messaging of the provincial government.

In response, counter-protests were also organised, with groups meeting at places like Queen’s Park, where thousands gathered.

“I was a teacher and I am openly queer,” one of the protesters from the group, Kit Etcheverry, told Global News. “I grew up in a household where I wasn’t able to be myself until my 30s and it is really important that all children know that there are people that love them and support them.”

Benita Pedersen, the co-ordinator of ‘1MillionMarch4Children’ in Edmonton, accused the schools of “planting seeds in the minds of young children to start thinking about transgenderism”. She told the outlet that Wednesday’s march was not about hate or discrimination.

Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Peel District School Board (PDSB), Durham District School Board (DDSB) and Halton District School Board (HDSB) issued separate statements before the protest saying they all support the LGBTQ community.

In a letter, it has directed all District Education Officers (DEOs) and Block Education Officers (BEOs) to ask the agitators to withdraw the stir. “Most of the teachers have not taken any permission from their competent authorities and participated in the strike. This leads to gross misconduct. Further, you must be aware of the fact that there shall be 220 working days in an Academic Year. If the same will not be achieved during the normal working months, then it has to be compensated in the later part,” the Director of Elementary Education said.

The letter further stated that a sub-committee under the chairmanship of the Director has been formed by the Government to examine and discuss the demands in presence of the office bearers of the teachers’ association. “After threadbare discussion with the office bearers of the association, the committee will recommend its decision to the Inter-ministerial Committee for taking final decision on the demands,” it read.

“In this connection, you are requested to appraise the matter to the teacher associations at the district and block level to call off their strike and resume in their duties forthwith in the interest of the students who are being deprived of their right to education,” the official added.

Notably, protests are being held in front of multiple district and block education offices as well as in the state capital Bhubaneswar under the banner of the All Utkal Primary Teachers’ Federation (AUPTF). The strike has disrupted the mid-day meal programme and students have been returning home after finding schools locked in several places. In some schools, regular teachers are running the show.

Speaking to media persons in Cuttack on Tuesday, convener of Badambadi Byabasai Mahasangh (Badambadi Traders’ Association) Mohammad Sakil said the traders of the government bus stand at Badambadi face an uncertain future due to Netaji Terminal.

“After the new terminal starts operation, the traders of the Badambadi bus stand will be left high and dry as they would be deprived of their only source of income. The livelihood of hundreds of families of permanent and temporary traders having shops in the bus stand will be affected,” he said.

Sakil alleged that the state government had gone ahead with the new terminus without considering the cause of the traders. “Neither any government official has interacted with us nor space has been allotted in Netaji Terminus to the traders to shift their business,” he added.

At present, 147 registered traders and more than 500 unregistered traders have been doing daily business in Badambadi bus stand.

Sakil said the traders will launch an indefinite strike from Wednesday. “We will sit on a dharna at the bus stand till our demands are fulfilled. Hundreds of traders will also go on a rally to meet the chief minister on the day of inauguration of Netaji terminal on September 16,” he added.

It may be noted that a large number of locals staged a demonstration in the city on Sunday alleging lack of employment opportunities for the youths of the area at the Netaji Terminal.

Also Read: Locals Stage Protest Demanding Jobs At Netaji Bus Terminal In Cuttack Ahead Of Its Inauguration

The victim sanitary staff, P. Narasingha was allegedly called by some JICA employees to do some work, assuring payment. He was later engaged to clean and desilt an open drain under the ongoing box-drain project at Barapathar area near Buxi Bazar. While carrying out the job, he fell into the drain and died.

Demanding adequate compensation and justice, the family members staged a sit-in on Thursday.

It is to be noted here that the Wednesday incident was the second such incident involving open drains in the city in the past four days. On July 15, a 21-year-old lost his life after falling into an open drain at Jhola Sahi in Cuttack.

The deceased, identified as Rahul hailed from Rajasthan and he had come to Cuttack to meet his relatives. He was on his way to a tea shop when the mishap occurred.

The protestors, led by Chhatra Congress president Yaseer Nawaz raised slogans against the government and demanded immediate steps to bring down the prices of vegetables which have gone beyond affordability of common man.

Students Congress Activists Demonstrate Against Vegetable Prices Near Minister House – YouTube

During their sit-in, the activists of the students wing of the Congress sold vegetables at half the price of the market rate. “Though the vegetable prices have been constantly increasing for the last few days, the government has failed to take any steps to ease the burden of the consumers,” they said.

“We want to draw the attention of the government towards the plight of the people and the farmers. The state doesn’t have adequate cold storage facilities. At least 82 cold stores across the state have become defunct,” Nawaz said.

“It is high time the government should take steps to ensure adequate cold-storages to preserve the vegetables produced by our farmers so that we would not depend on other states. Besides, a robust distribution system for farm produce should be ensured,” he added.