Bhubaneswar, Aug 16: The 12-hour dawn-to-dusk bandh by Congress on August 16, to protest the construction of barrages and dams in the upper catchment areas of Mahanadi, has brought normal life in all parts of Odisha to a standstill.
Road and Rail service blockade has been observed at many places across the State. Following this, Coromandel express at Bhubaneswar station, Bhadrak-Bhubaneswar DMU at Bhadrak Station, Sambalpur-Puri and Sambalpur-Rayagad intercity trains at Sambalpur were halted by Congress activists.
Cuttack city president, Mohammed Moguim and Congress workers staged rail roko at Cuttack station.
In Bhubaneswar, all the petrol pumps, educational institutions, business houses remained closed due to the bandh. Vehicular movement was also prohibited. However, only few two-wheelers were seen functioning in the city. To avoid any unwanted situation, police platoons were deployed in some areas of the capital city.
The National highway at Vani Vihar was blocked by the Congress student wing and the National highway number-5 was also blocked by the Party activists by burning tyres.
Besides the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the bandh also affected Bhawanipatna, Angul, Kandhamal, Berhampur, Anandapur, Kendrapara, Balangir and other places across the State.
