The Commissionerate police on Saturday arrested Daruthenga Sarpanch Prasanta Kumar Routray even as tension prevailed for the third consecutive day at the village on the outskirts of the capital city with irate villagers staging a road blockade by felling trees in protest against garbage dumping at a BMC yard near the village.

Sources said the sarpanch was arrested on the charge of leading the protest.

Earlier on the day, dumping of garbage in the area got disrupted due to the protest, but later the trucks carrying garbage took another route to the dumping yard.

As many as 16 platoons of police force have been deployed at the village to maintain law and order.

On Friday, the agitating villagers had clashed with police during the dumping of waste materials at the yard.

Around 300-400 agitators pelted stones injuring some policemen. Police had to lob teargas shells and fire rubber bullets to disperse the violent mob. Twelve villagers were injured in police lathicharge on the day.

Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said, “We are every day trying to make the villagers aware (about the need of the dump yard). We are abiding by the directives of the Orissa High Court and the State and Central Pollution Control Boards. I request the locals to cooperate.”

The villagers, however, threatened that their opposition to the location of the dumping yard would continue.

Meanwhile, maintaining that the situation is under control, Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi said, senior officials have been deployed at the spot to maintain law and order.  Amid beefed up security, around 50 truck trips of garbage were dumped on Saturday.