A six-hour “Chaka Jam” held by the Congress from 6 am to 12 pm opposing the hike in petrol, diesel and lPG prices affected vehicular movement in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Monday.
Holding banners and party flags, Congress leaders and workers resorted to picketing at several important junctions in the two cities.
Many cars, buses and trucks remained stranded at various junctions in the cities due to the agitation.
The otherwise bustling Barmunda bus-stand in Bhubaneswar and the Badambadi bus-stand in Cuttack wore deserted looks; and no bus plied on the roads. This caused great inconvenience to the bus passengers as they had to wait for hours to reach their destinations. Most of the shops and other business establishments downed their shutters apprehending violence. People had difficulty in reaching their offices and other destinations.
Congress activists were seen asking commuters not to use vehicles as a mark of protest against the hike in fuel prices.
Blaming both the Central and State Governments for the increase in fuel prices, Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said, “Both the Centre and State can keep the fuel prices under check by reducing their taxes.”
“We are overwhelmed by the support we have received from residents of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to our call for protest against rising fuel prices.
“It’s not a bandh, but a protest by the Odisha Congress where people from all walks of life joined us in not using their vehicles till 12 noon”, he said The Commissionerate police was fully prepared to tackle any untoward situation, but nothing such happened anywhere, Patnaik further said.
Though the Congress had said the agitation would be peaceful, there were reports of stray incidents of violence at different places. An ITI student was assaulted at link Road in Cuttack by the agitators and later he filed a complaint with the Madhupatna police.
In Bhubaneswar, there were also heated altercations between the agitators and the commuters at some places during the stir.
later, police arrested some agitators at AG Square to restore communication.