Bhubaneswar, Sept. 10: The hustle and bustle returned to the capital’s streets when the 12-hour Odisha bandh came to an end by dusk. Shoppers thronged markets in hordes, scrambling for essentials while others queued up at ATM counters, movie halls and restaurants. There were long queues at petrol pumps too.

A large number of people who were confined to home all day, made up for the lost time by going on a shopping spree.

“Many of my colleagues had decided not to go to work today. So, we decided to meet in the evening and dine at our favourite restaurant,” said Sanjana Mishra, a corporate employee, who was spotted outside Forum Mart here. She appeared distinctly pleased with the bandh extending her weekend.

Petrol pumps also saw a huge rush at the end of the day. However, some of the owners appeared a bit dejected by the loss of business earlier in the day.

“We incurred heavy losses during the bandh hours but hope to make up for it now,” said Sanjay Lath, owner of a Unit-II petrol pump.

Cinema owners said they had to cancel three shows between 9am and 6pm. “We kept the halls closed because it is obvious that people would not step out of home on a bandh day. There was also a lurking fear of attack by the bandh supporters and in the process, we suffered losses of nearly Rs 50,000,” said Rabi Mohanty, owner of Keshari, which is screening Raaz 3, Ice Age 4 and Joker.

The S-complex, which houses three theatres — Sriya, Stutee and Swati — buzzed with activity after the bandh came to an end.

“We are screening Odia film Bad Girl and Raaz-3 in the two halls that are running now. Our business was hit hard by the bandh. We lost around Rs 1 lakh for cancelling all shows till 6pm. However, the audience turnout for the evening show has been encouraging,” said Rabindra Sahu, owner of S-complex.

A number of hotels that have been doing good business with food festivals at their restaurants were affected by the shutdown. “All shutdowns are nightmarish experiences. This was no different,” said Savyasachi, a senior employee with a city hotel.

Liquor shops, which had been asked to down shutters last evening in view of the bandh, resumed business in the evening. “We have a rush here, but we were expecting it,” said the owner of a liquor shop.