The dawn-to-dusk Odisha bandh called by the Congress to protest against the gross mismanagement by the State Government and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in conducting Brahma Parivartan, the most crucial ritual of Nabakalebar festival, of deities in Puri on June 16 was near total across the State. Congress workers took to the streets from early morning to enforce the bandh. Shops and other business establishments remained closed. Congress workers started pocketing at almost all crucial junctions of cities, including Bhubaneswar. All schools, colleges and several Government and no-Government offices were closed.
Congress activists stopped trains in Cuttack, Khordha Road, Angul, Sambalpur, Brahmapur, Bhadrak, Jaleswar, Bhadrak, Rayagada and many other places in the morning and staged road blockades at various places by burning tyres on the roads.The Bhubaneswar-Chhatrapur passenger train, which was stranded at the Balugaon railway station, returned to Bhubaneswar while the Sambalpur-Puri Intercity Express and Talcher-Puri passenger trains returned from the Khordha Road station. The East Coast Railway (ECoR) cancelled some passenger trains, including the Paradip-Cuttack and Angul-Puri ones.
life in the Capital city of Bhubaneswar was paralysed due to the bandh with roads wearing a deserted look and shops and business establishments remaining shut. In the morning, Congress workers went to the city railway station and detained the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and several other trains.However, essential services like healthcare in hospitals in the State and the ongoing Nabakelabar work in Puri were exempted from the bandh’s purview.The police had a scuffle with a group of Youth Congress activists who tried to force their way into the State Secretariat premises in Bhubaneswar. The police arrested Youth Congress State president Rajat Choudhury and former Minister Suresh Routray from the spot.
Commissioner of Police Dr RP Sharma said over 100 Congress protestors were arrested for violating prohibitory orders.Police arrested several senior Congress leaders in the city including Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Prasad Harichandan, former PCC chiefs Jayadev Jena and Sarat Pattanayak, Bhakta Charan Das, AICC Odisha Saha Pravari Subhankar Sarkar, Chiranjib Biswal, Kishore Patel and Sibananda Ray. “Such repression will not be tolerated. The Naveen Patnaik Government’s fall is imminent,” said Harichandan while being taken away by the police in a police van at AG Square. leader of the Opposition Narasingha Mishra expressed his gratitude to the people of the State for making the bandh a big success.
Talking to mediapersons here, PCC chief Harichandan also expressed deep gratitude to the people for wholeheartedly supporting the bandh to make it a success. He criticised Naveen Patnaik for coming to the State Secretariat late by fearing stiff protest of Congress workers. “The Chief Minister, who used to come to the State Secretariat at 11 am, entered into his office at 12.32 pm with the help of a convoy having 24 vehicles boarded by armed police and guards,” said Harichandan, adding, “The unprecedented security reflects his fear for the crowd who wanted an answer for the mismanagement in the Nabakalebar rituals.”