The twelve hour ‘hartal’ called by thirteen political parties including the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa, protesting against the failure of the UPA government to check price rise of essential commodities, threw normal life out of gear in almost all the locations of the state.
The bandh, however, passed off peacefully with no untoward incident being reported.
While the buses and the trucks were off the roads, the trains were stopped in several places. Though government offices were open, the attendance was thin. The hartal evoked good response throughout the state with banks and the shops remaining closed till evening.
“The hartal has been a success and we have received the people’s support”, the chief minister Naveen Patnaik told the media. The bandh also affected the conduct of examinations at the educational institutions. The authorities of Berhampur University postponed all the examinations scheduled for today.
Besides ruling BJD, the other political parties like CPM, CPI, JMM, RSP, RJD and Forward Block participated in the stir.
The 12-hour bandh paralyzed coal mine operations at the coalfields under the command area of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) even as Central PSUs like National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) reported normal operations.
