Orissa bandh peaceful, throws life out of gear

Bhubaneswar, Sep 10 (UNI) The dawn-to-dusk Orissa bandh called by the major Opposition Congress and the Left parties to protest against the ''failure'' of the Naveen Patnaik government on all fronts virtually threw normal life out of gear across the State.

Business establishments remained closed all over the State while vehicles were off the roads and train services were worst affected as the East Cost Railways(ECoR) had to cancel 12 Express and 27 Passenger trains and control 19 Mail and Passenger trains at various railway stations.

The Orissa Government, apprehending violence, ordered closure of all educational institutions. Banks also remained closed all over the State as the bandh supporters resorted to picketing.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik while describing the Orissa bandh as ''peaceful,'' alleged that the Opposition parties had engaged lot of anti-social elements and many of them have been arrested during the bandh.

He criticised the Opposition for depriving the small businessmen, farmers and poor labourers, their right to eke out a living during the bandh.

Leader of the Opposition J B Pattnaik, who staged demonstrations before the State Secretariat, later courted arrest, along with former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal, former Union MinisterS K C Lenka and Srikanta Jena, Pradesh Congress chief Jayadev Jena, Youth Congress chief Rohit Pujari and Orissa Women Congress chief Asima Mahananda.

Mr Pattnaik said the Naveen Patnaik Government had covertly justified the bandh call by ordering closure of all educational institutions across the State, adding that by doing so, the Government had also admitted its failure in handling the large scale Cholera deaths, the fake medicine racket and female foeticide, besides deteriorating law and order SITUATION.

Opposition Congress, Left parties, the Orissa Gana Parishad, the CPI(ML) described the bandh as a total success and said the spontaneous public support for the bandh indicated that the BJD-BJP government had lost the confidence of the people and had no moral right to continue in power.

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