ROURKELA: The dawn-to-dusk shutdown observed by Koshal Kranti Dal (KKD) on Friday evoked partial response in Sundargarh district even as normal life was hit amid disruption in services of transport vehicles.
This was the third bandh in last 15 days throwing normal life out of gear in the district, while a conglomeration of trade unions have announced to effect 24-hours shutdown on September 2.
At Rourkela, a majority of shops, commercial establishments including fuel filling stations, banks and insurance offices remained closed, while courts functioned normally.
Barring the Regional Transport Office, other State Government offices remained open without visitors and educational institutions were partly affected. Commercial vehicles were forced to stay off the roads and a group of KKD activists staged blockade on NH-143 near Vedvyas, while 10 others were arrested from Bisra Square.
Rourkela unit KKD president Jaysingh Singh said formation of separate Koshal state comprising Western Odisha districts was necessary to remove the regional imbalance.
At the Sundargarh district headquarters town, about 100 km away from Rourkela, the impact was partial with shops near State Government offices remaining open.
However, disruption in services of incoming and outgoing buses to Sundargarh town hit normal life and 11 KKD activists were rounded up during a road blockade. There was little impact in Rajgangpur and Birmitrapur towns along with the Bonai sub-divisional headquarters.
Earlier, the Congress had observed 12-hour shutdown in the district on August 11 to protest certain contentious points in the implementation of the National Food Security Act which followed with another Congress-sponsored bandh on August 16 over the Mahanadi river dispute with Chhattisgarh.