Cuttack comes to a halt

CUTTACK: In the Millennium City of Cuttack, the bandh was total with all shops and business establishments pulling down shutters.

The prominent business centres of the city - Malgodown, Chhatra Bazar, Krusak Bazar, Choudhury Bazar - remained closed during the bandh. With public transport too off the roads, Badambadi bus stand wore a deserted look. Hundreds of passengers waiting for a bus to other districts were stranded.

While government offices were locked from inside, as per government order, all educational institutions were closed while work in High Court and other courts was paralysed.

Effecting the bandh, hundreds of Congress workers led by Mohammed Moquim, president of city unit of the party resorted to picketing, staged a demonstration and blocked roads at Madhupatna square, Badambadi bus stand, Cuttack railway station, near the collectorate and Director General of Police (DGP) office.

Similarly, hundreds of BJP activists led by City BJP president Laxmidhar Pradhan staged demonstration and blocked road by burning tyres at OMP Square, Mahanadi Vihar, Link Road, Badambadi, Seminary Square, Naya Sadak, Buxibazar, Jobra and CDA.

The BJP activists burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and demanded his resignation over the incident.

The worst sufferers were the poor people, including beggars, who found it difficult to avail even a meal as Aahar centres also remained closed. More than 150 Congress workers and 100 BJP workers arrested and later released.