Bandh by Congress, BJP over Kunduli gangrape victim suicide total and peaceful in Odisha

Public transport remained paralysed as protestors blocked trains at various places while buses and local transport system remained off road.

Congress workers stop a train at Bhubaneswar railway station during statewide protest over the alleged suicide of Kunduli gang rape victim in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. | PTI

BHUBANESWAR: The dawn-to-dusk bandhs called separately by the opposition Congress and BJP over the suicide of Kunduli gangrape victim were total and peaceful barring a few minor incidents across the state on Wednesday.

Public transport remained paralysed as protestors blocked trains at various places while buses and local transport system remained off road causing severe inconvenience to people who were stranded. Commercial establishments and banks downed their shutters, educational institutions remained closed though attendance in government offices was near normal.

In Bhubaneswar, chief minister Naveen Patnaik along with ministers and senior bureaucrats were escorted to the state secretariat under tight security cover even as the opposition political parties protested across the state capital.

In Koraput, which was the centre of all actions after the alleged gangrape came to fore, the bandh was total.

Congress laid siege to Jeypore while BJP picketed across Koraput town. With people staying indoors, normal life was hit. The Koraput-Visakhapatnam National Highway 26 wore a deserted look as vehicular traffic movement came to a grinding halt.

Similar reports of a peaceful, yet complete bandh, came in from Cuttack, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj districts. In southern districts of Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam and Malkangiri, the bandh passed off peacefully.

The state police had made elaborate arrangements to keep a watch on the protestors and prevent any untoward incident.

However, barring clashes at a few places, no major incident was reported. In Pipili, supporters of Congress and BJP clashed leaving one injured.

At least 14 trains were detained at various places of the state due to the bandh and blockade by the activists of BJP and Congress. Some trains were cancelled en route and rescheduled by the last Coast Railway. At Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar, travellers had a hard time as no cab service was available. Many of the fliers had to be detained for several hours.

Several Congress activists, led by PCC president Prasad Harichandan, courted arrest after the agitation while BJP supporters were also detained by the police.