Rourkela: Muktikanta Biswal, who walked around 1550 km to meet the Prime Minister at New Delhi, returned Rourkela this morning and received a rousing welcome by the denizens of the steel city.

Biswal was received by hundreds of men and youths amid a grand procession with beats of dhol. He was garlanded and taken to a nearby temple where he offered prayer to the deities.

"I am feeling happy as I have returned to my hometown today. However, I am disappointed at the same time as my wish remained unfulfilled," said Biswal speaking to reporters.

Commenting over his further course of action, he said, "The fight will continue until our problems are resolved. We will unite the people of the city and make them aware about the demands."

Notably, Biswal, after walking around 1550 km over 70 days, had reached Delhi on June 27 to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his promises made on April 1, 2015 to upgrade SAIL’s Ispat General Hospital (IGH) into Super Speciality Hospital and Medical College and construction of second Brahmani bridge in Rourkela.

He then staged hunger strike initially at Ramlila Maidan and later at Jagannath Temple, Hauz Khas as he was unable to meet the Prime Minister despite repeated attempts.