Bhubaneswar: Commuters had a tough day stepping out of home and back, but barring a few stray incidents shutdown supporters did not give police too many troubles to handle.
While transport facilities remained off the roads, businesses establishments were also closed. Apprehending trouble, the state government had ordered schools and colleges to remain shut on Wednesday.
The day began with protestors setting tyres on fire and blocking roads at places such as Rasulgarh, Vani Vihar, Master Canteen Square and Kalpana Square.
Streets of the state capital wore deserted look during the protest with hundreds of passengers left stranded at the Baramunda bus terminal and city railway station and the airport.
Railway services were affected across the state as activists squatted on the tracks to stop trains.
Fourteen trains, the including Rajdhani Express, were halted at several places.
"I reached the city in the morning from Calcutta and came to know about the strike. I was forced to wait at Baramunda to catch a bus to Berhampur. People like us are the worst sufferers of such strikes," said Animesh Das, a passenger. However medicine shops and ambulance services functioned normally.
The protest reached chief minister Naveen Patnaik's door when hundreds of supporters of the Congress and the BJP tried to barge into the secretariat. The police, however, foiled their bid and detained them.
The chief minister, a few ministers and bureaucrats had reached the secretariat amid tight security arrangements. Unable to get into the secretariat, the protestors then tore posters bearing the chief minister's pictures at various places in the city.
BJP supporters scuffled with the police outside the secretariat while trying to barge in.
"Women in the state do not get justice and are feeling insecure because the chief minister is a mute spectator to atrocities on them. We will continue our fight till the Kunduli victim gets justice," said BJP Mahila Morcha state president Prabhati Parida.
Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said no untoward incident was reported during the strike.
"Around 25 platoons of police personnel were deployed in the city on Wednesday. We urge commuters to lodge complaints if they had faced any harassment during the strike," said Bhoi.
