Bhubaneswar: Life was thrown out of gear in Odisha on Monday following a 9-hour Bharat Bandh call by the Congress in protest against the steep hike in the prices of petrol and diesel by the BJP government at the Centre.
The bandh which began at 6 am will continue till 3 pm.
The effect of the bandh was felt in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
In Bhubaneswar, the Congress activists picketed at Master Canteen Square, Vani Vihar Square and Satsang Vihar Square. The CPM activists staged a road blockade at Acharya Vihar Square. Several passengers were seen waiting at the Baramunda Bus Stand complex.
In view of the bandh, the vice-chancellor of Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) cancelled the examinations.
In Cuttack, the Congress activists staged road blockade at Badambadi and detained the Howrah-Chennai Superfast Express at the railway station.
In Pipili, the vehicle of Trinamool Congress MP Sudipta Bandopadhyay was detained at NH-316 at Teisipur by the Congress activists.
Vehicular traffic between Bhubaneswar and Puri has come to a halt due to the bandh.
The Congress activists also staged road blockade in Sambalpur, Balangir and Balasore districts.
In Bhadrak, the Congress and CPM activists staged picketing and blocked the road at different places, including the National Highway.
In Kalahandi, the Congress activists staged road blockade at several places by burning tyres on the road, while the National Highway at Nalco Square was blocked in Angul.
All trading establishments remained closed and vehicular traffic came to a standstill in Kendrapara while the Congress activists staged road blockade near the bus stand in Jagatsinghpur.
In Nabarangpur district, the Congress activists staged road blockade near the by-pass at Gunupur.
While the bandh was total in Malkangiri district, the Congress and the CPM activists staged a blockade at Bonai in Sundargarh district.
In Balasore district, the Congress and the CPM activists staged picketing at different places and blockades at Station Bazaar and Fakir Mohan Square. In Soro, the Congress activists staged a road blockade on the National Highway.
In Kandhamal district, the Congress activists blocked the National Highway-59 at Baliguda while in Nuapada district, they staged road blockades in five blocks.
The bandh was total in Muniguda, Chandrapur and Bisamkatak in Rayagada district with Congress activists obstructing traffic on Rayagada-Kalahandi road.
Besides, the bandh also disrupted train services in several places in the state.
The Congress activists detained Tapaswini, Puri, Shalimar, Jansatabdi and Prashanti Express trains and Puri-Nayagarh Passenger train at Khurda Road.
In Sambalpur, Sambalpur-Puri and Sambalpur-Rayagada Inter City Express trains were detained at the railway station. The Tirupati-Bhubaneswar Superfast Express and Berhampur-Cuttack DMU were detained at the Berhampur railway station. In Balangir, the Ispat Express left the railway station one hour after its scheduled departure.
In Bhadrak, the Congress activists staged rail rook and detained the DMU. Besides, they also detained the Secunderabad-Guwahati Superfast Express at Manjuri Road. In Jajpur district, the Kharagpur-Bagha Passenger train was detained at Jajpur Road while in Balasore district, the Howrah-Khurda Passenger train was detained at Jaleswar railway station.
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