BHUBANESWAR: The two-day Bharat Bandh called by the trade and labour unions received lukewarm support in the State on Monday, only leading to minor disruption of road transportation, rail and other services on the first day. The protest that began at 6 am, however, remained peaceful by and large.
Members of various trade unions staged a ‘rail roko’ at Bhubaneswar Railway Station for a short period affecting the schedule of a few trains, while a road blockade on National Highway (NH)- 16 at Acharya Vihar led to disruption of road transport during noon. A number of buses and trucks remained stranded on both sides of the National Highway at Jayadev Vihar.
Passengers at Baramunda bus stand were stranded for at least two to three hours as buses remained off the road affecting public transport.
The city bus service was also affected as a group of auto drivers blocked movement of Mo Bus in Patia and other parts of the city asking as to why they would ply when three-wheelers have not been permitted to operate during the bandh.
Trade Union leaders also staged a road blockades in different parts of the city including Master Canteen square, Raj Mahal square, and Acharya Vihar seeking fulfillment of the 12-point charter of demands including regulation of fuel price and other essentials as well as a curb on privatisation of government-owned companies.
Apart from the State capital, Bandh partially affected traffic and transportation in parts of Cuttack, Berhampur, Balasore, Rourkela and other places. Members of CITU, AITUC and other trade unions reportedly tried to breach the security cordon in order to stage ‘rail roko’ at Berhampur Railway Station.
The bandh, however, affected banking, insurance, income tax and postal services. Petrol bunks that remained closed in some of the places including the State Capital during the morning for security reasons reopened in the afternoon.
While essential services continued without any disruption, many educational institutions remained shut. A number of universities including Utkal, Ravenshaw and Ramadevi postponed their exams scheduled on the day to avoid any inconvenience to the students during the bandh.