BHUBANESWAR: The nation-wide trade union strike supported by various political parties affected normal life across Odisha. Major commercial establishments downed shutters while transport and communication were adversely disrupted.
Educational institutions remained closed in most of the districts and examinations were postponed in many educational institutions including Utkal University. The bandh also affected the JEE Main 2020 in the State. Many JEE candidates reached examination centres much before the scheduled time to avoid inconvenience.
Government offices in the Capital functioned as usual as employees reached early. Some Ministers were seen riding pillion to the Lok Seva Bhawan (State Secretariat). Keeping the situation in view, the Lok Seva Bhawan gates were closed for entry of outsiders at 10.15 am.
Bank services were affected as members of the Bank Employees Associations joined the protest opposing privatisaiton and merger of banks and delay in recovery of bad loans in corporate sector.
Train passengers remained stranded at different stations as 17 trains were detained at several places in East Coast Railway (ECoR) jurisdictions as bandh activists stage demonstration on railway tracks. Services later resumed after persuading agitators.
Meanwhile, Cuttack-Bhadrak-Cuttack Passenger, Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Bhubaneswar Passenger and Pardip-Cuttack-Paradip Passenger have been cancelled on Wednesday due to protests that led to late running of link trains.
Congress and Left parties who extended their support to the strike staged demonstration and carried out protest rallies in different places in the state.
In Bhubaneswar, commuters bore the brunt of the shutdown as buses at Baramunda bus stand remained off the road. Air passengers were stranded for a few hours at Biju Patnaik International Airport. Tourists from outside the state also suffered due to the protest.
Commercial hubs in the city including Janpath road wore a deserted look. Small vendors, however, continued their business as usual. Mixed responses were reported from Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasore and Jeypore. Members of SUCI and AIDSO as well as Congress and CPM staged protests and blocked roads.
AITUC national secretary Rama Krushna Panda, who termed the bandh a success, said they received overwhelming public support for the strike organsed against the Citizenship Amendment Act and Centre's anti-labour policies, failure to address growing unemployment and rising prices of essential commodities.
The Commissionerate Police deployed around 15 platoon police force to maintain law and order situation in Bhubaneswar. Many agitators including trade union leader Janardan Pati and state Congress President Niranjan Patnaik were taken into preventive custody by the Commissionerate Police at Master Canteen square.
DCP Anup Sahu said the bandh remained peaceful and no vandalism has been reported from anywhere so far. Essential services have also remained unaffected, he added.