A dawn-to-dusk bandh called by the Koshal State Coordination Committee on Thursday to highlight the plight of farmers paralysed life in Bargarh district.
Agitators picketed across various places of the district in general and Bargarh town in particular to make the bandh successful.
While vehicular traffic came to a standstill, most shops and Government offices remained closed. Passengers were seen stranded at bus-stops. Security measures were taken to avoid any untoward incident.
Emergency services were, however, exempted from the purview of the bandh while educational institutes operated as usual in view of the ongoing examinations.
The bandh call was given in the wake of the Government’s denial of farmers’ suicide because of crop loss. The agitation was supported by the BJP, the Congress, the AAP, the District lawyers’ Association and many civil society organisations.
The agitators demanded that the Government admit crop loss as the main reason behind the farmers’ suicide and provide a Rs 5-lakh compensation to the next of kin of each deceased farmer. They also demanded input subsidy for the drought-hit farmers.