As part of the all India bandh call by Congress and several other opposition parties, Sambalpur and all other neighbouring districts were seen paralyzed from morning till 3 pm on Monday. Unlike other times, the bandh this time was almost spontaneous since people from rich to poor feel the pinch of price hike in diesel and petrol.
“Through today’s bandh, people have given a message to the ruling BJP that they are not satisfied with its governance at the Centre,” said district president of Congress cum former MLA Aswini Guri.
Collector Samarth Verma who came to his office at 9 am also faced the ire of the Congress people. The party workers led by Guru and former DCC president Rajkishore Das barged into his office and requested him to close the office for a day. Verma left his office within a few minutes.
Party workers, at the outset, stopped the movement of two intercity express trains to Puri and Raygada at 6.00 am. However, looking at the inconvenience of the people, they left it after a few hours. But trains moving in long routes were also seen running late by four to six hours. Vehicular traffic was brought to a standstill. Even auto rickshaws which habitually run on the roads during the bandh days for a quick buck were not seen. “Today’s bandh was totally peaceful and no arrest has been made anywhere in the district,” police control room sources said.