Bhubaneswar: Normal life was thrown out of gear across Odisha on Wednesday due to the countrywide Bharat Bandh call given by different trade unions and farmers’ outfits.
The shutdown was called to protest the implementation of four labour codes, increase in working hours, and the decriminalisation of violations of labour laws by employers.
As bus and other public transport services got severely affected in most parts of the state due to the bandh, common people faced enormous difficulties. Though trains were running as usual, people were anxious about whether protestors might picket at stations by stopping the trains.
A large number of commuters were stranded at Baramunda bus terminal in Bhubaneswar as no bus was plying. “Though I have urgent work in Kandhamal, I am unable to proceed as there is no bus. I have no idea how long I will have to wait to get a bus,” said a man waiting for a bus at Baramunda terminal.
Similar was the situation at Netaji Subhas Chandra bus terminal in Cuttack and other bus stands in the state. As most areas in the state are not connected with railway networks, people still depend on bus services.
Apprehending possible face-off with protestors, many bus owners have stopped running buses on different routes connecting Bhubaneswar.
Around ten trade unions, farmers’ outfits led by Samyukt Kisan Morcha, and agricultural workers’ unions supported the all-India strike.
The protesters staged demonstrations in front of railway stations, bus stands/terminals, govt offices, highways, and busy squares as a mark of protest in different district and block headquarters in the state.
They also conducted picketing at busy squares of cities, in front of different central govt offices, and major institutions, demanding the fulfilment of their 17-point charter of demands.
In state capital Bhubaneswar, protestors staged a demonstration at Master Canteen, near the railway station, blocking vehicular traffic for an hour in the morning as a mark of protest. A workers’ union held picketing in front of Utkal University’s main gate.
The woes of people got compounded in view of the strike by drivers in the state. Their protest entered the second day on Wednesday, halting the plying of private buses and public transport vehicles, leaving passengers in the lurch.
Many protestors from the drivers’ association were stopping the buses and asking the drivers not to drive the vehicles and the fear still exists in the minds of bus drivers. Though a few buses are running, full bus service is likely to resume by evening, said Debendra Sahu, General Secretary of the All Odisha Private Bus Owners’ Association.
The protesters also blocked train movement and staged picketing at other major urban areas and industrial towns of the state including, Rourkela, Berhampur, Balasore and Paradip.
National Vice President of INTUC, Ramachandra Khuntia, said the demands of workers have been ignored for the last several years. The government has not convened any proper dialogue or negotiation with Trade Unions, while many promises, including implementation of the 17-point charter of demands, remain unfulfilled, he said.
Khuntia further alleged that the government is encouraging contractualisation and privatisation across core public sectors.