(From top) Postal employees shout slogans in support of the strike, members of AIUTUC block a train, a bank wears a bandh look and a deserted petrol pump in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 7: Commuters had a tough time today as the 24-hour strike called by eight trade unions to protest against the Centre’s “anti-poor” policies hit the common man in every possible way.

While all modes of transport were affected, the worst hit were the railway commuters as trade union members activists a rail roko at the Bhubaneswar railway station blocking the movement of Visakha Express for about an hour. The agitators mounted on the engine of the train forcing the driver to bring it to a halt.

“I was not aware of the strike. Now I am stranded here along with hundreds of other passengers. I only hope the train reaches its destination in time,” said Hari Bandhu Das on his way to Hyderabad with his family. The Bhubaneswar airport also felt the heat of the strike with at least two flights getting delayed.

General commuters were hard hit as the city’s petrol pumps closed down operations. “This morning around 8.30am trade union activists arrived at the filling stations asking us to stop operations. When some of the owners in Kalpana Square, Chintamaniswara and Chandrasekharpur areas opposed the activists, they attacked the pumps destroying property worth more than a lakh. We have not decided yet whether to lodge an FIR,” said a member of the petrol pump owners’ association.

For the roadside petrol vendors, this was a golden opportunity to make a quick buck charging Rs 20 extra for a litre of petrol. “Though the market price of petrol is Rs.50. 52 per litre, today I had to buy it for Rs 70. The vendor was illegally selling petrol right in front of the Commissionerate Police, and the police officers were silent spectators to the event,” said Ram Chandra Mishra who works for a private company.

The petrol pumps, however, reopened after 4.30pm. But by that time, auto drivers had made a neat little pile of money fleecing passengers who were charged more than double the normal fare. “I paid Rs 8 for a ride from Bapuji Nagar to Vani Vihar,” said Raghunandan Das, another private sector employee.

The strike also hit normal life in industrial hubs like Angul, Talcher, Jharsuguda, Kalinga Nagar and Rourkela.