The statewide bandh called by opposition Congress in Odisha on Monday evoked a positive response with business establishments and educational institutions remaining closed in most parts of the State.
Normal life, however, was badly hit as trains remained stranded at major railway stations and passenger and transport vehicles remained off the roads. Banks and other financial institutions as well and petrol pumps too remained closed.
The bandh continued to remain by and large peaceful even as hundreds of Congress workers and scores of senior leaders of the party were taken into custody for picketing outside government offices and other places.
There was no report of any major untoward incident from any part of the State till noon though an empty private bus that was parked in a lane in Bhubaneswar was partially burnt after a youth set that on fire. The fire was controlled soon by the fire services personnel.
Heavy security arrangements were made in Bhubaneswar and other places of the State to prevent any untoward incident during the bandh.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik came to his office at the State Secretariat at 11-20 am amid tight security. The government offices recorded thin attendance.
“Our bandh call has evoked overwhelming support from the public. It is peaceful and complete success,” said Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik.
"It shows people are against the Biju Janata Dal government headed by Naveen Patnaik,” he said.
The Congress had called for the day-long bandh in protest against the “police high-handedness and action against the party workers during a rally on Mahatma Gandhi Marg outside the State Assembly in Bhubaneswar on Septver 200 persons, including about 60 policemen were injured in the pitched battle between the Congress workers and police for nearly three hours. A woman Constable was also beaten up by the protestors as she could not come out of the crowd during the clash.
Keywords: Congress bandh, Odisha shutdown
What a tragedy? Where are we heading? Political parties give a Bandh call for no good reason. In general people stay away from work places during bandh not exactly in support of Bandh but to avoid any confrontation with the hooligans and goondas. In some cases people also want to have a holiday.
The party which has given Bnadh call thinks that the success of Bandh Call is victory to their ideas which is absolutely not correct.
I am not sure if the Bandh was successful or not but if Odisha people
are supporting it, then future is dark... Whole nation has seen what
Congress workers did and world has been witness to scams of amounts no
one had imagined of!!!
Hope people of Odisha do the right thing and send appropriate message to
the political class...
Cant Hindu check the fact on the ground before espousing such a blatant
pro-congress line. Most of congress workers were goons and their
behaviour was on display outside the state assembly last week.Today's
bandh led to people closing their establishments to prevents damage by
the goons. One Bus was burnt by congress workers in bhubaneswar and it
was not partially burnt.
Why people wasting time on this bandh?Nothing will improve in Odisha by congress or BJD??
The CM of odisha does not know the mother tongue Odia.
If sometimes the rule changed in Constitution of India,please include the rule "This should be minimum criteria for CM to know the mother tongue of the state". "Bande Utkal Janani"
Unflattering epithets mildly describes politicians like Mr Jagdish Titler. I have been an activist of NSUI Odisha for some years now although I vehemently condemn what happened and hold the leaders of OPCC solely responsible. This incident only goes to show that the 'oldest' party has still not parted with its old traditional ethos of alcoholism, hooliganism,and hypocrisy. Mr Titler should have taken moral responsibility of the untoward incident and therefore called-off the movement rather than involving in a mudslinging battle with the state government. This is what I would have done had I been in place of Mr Titler or Mr Niranjan Patnaik. This is what any true proponent of Congress Party should have done. Dear Odisha Congressmen .. just get back into history and see what Mahatma Gandhi did during the Chauri Chaura Movement...Now say do you not feel ashamed of what you did on 5th Sep.2012? Your movement was grossly outrageous & your act, an insensitive & irresponsible demeanor.
It is despicable on congress' behalf to call a bandh by holding the city still. They can't tolerate a peaceful protest by a bunch of people in New Delhi and they are calling their "bandh" as just. By allowing the so called bandh, the local government has exalted the spirits of the hooligans, who molested the police-woman, the shocking video of which depicted the extent to which our democracy can be misused.
People from the slums of bhubaneswar were dumped on to trucks and
brought into master canteen for performing their so called bandh which
is public supported.
BJD needs to beef up the security arrangements and needs more mob
control arrangements.
No one can deny the fact that mob has always demolished public
property in bhubaneswar.
Mob control is an indispensable and necessary measure.
Bandh call has evoked overwhelming support from the public does not mean that people are against the BJD government,rather people are against the Congress party's whims and caprices to lay down a democratically elected government consequitively for 3 terms to power and this is a lesson to our congress leaders and people want to wipe-out congress from the state politics.
Please Email the Editor