A dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the Congress over the demand of a second AIIMS in western Odisha affected normal life in Sundargarh district on Saturday.
Holding party flags and shouting slogans, Congress members began the shutdown at 6 am disrupting vehicular movements. Petrol pumps, shops and other business establishments remained closed as the activists staged picketing.
Different organisations and associations, including those of traders and lawyers, extended their support to the shutdown.
Earlier in late March, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kisore Das had shot off a letter to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan requesting him to consider the proposal of setting up of a second AIIMS in Sundargarh.
Citing the population density in western Odisha, Das had told the Union Minister that people of western Odisha would be benefitted a lot by getting quality healthcare if a second AIIMS comes up at the new medical colleges and hospital building in Sundargarh constructed by the NTPC.