City buses at the bus terminal at Master Canteen Square in Bhubaneswar and (below) people wait for public transport in the capital. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 28: Ratikant Sahu, a young state government employee, had to wait for more than an hour to travel from his residence in Dumduma to Kharavela Nagar, where his office is, before he finally got a lift from a motorcyclist.

Ratikant’s fate was shared by many here today, as autorickshaws and city buses stayed off roads in the capital. Autorickshaw drivers had called a 12-hour strike to protest against several policies of the state and central governments that they said were against their welfare. A 12-hour nationwide strike call given by at least 11 trade unions made bus service providers keep their buses off the streets, fearing vandalism.

Their fear proved to be well-founded when strike supporters ransacked a petrol pump on the outskirts of the capital in the morning.

Autorickshaw drivers under the banner of All-Odisha Auto Chalak Mahasangha today not only kept their vehicles off the streets, they also organised a rally from Ram Mandir to Vani Vihar. City buses were seen parked in rows at several terminals.

Students and office-goers were the worst sufferers as public transport was paralysed. The few autorickshaws that did ply the roads demanded exorbitant fares from hapless commuters. A few private town buses too were charging higher fares.

Surama Panda, a graduation student of Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar (BJB) College, almost missed taking an examination.

“I didn’t know about the strike until I came to a nearby auto stand in Palasuni from where I always take an auto to my college at Kalpana Square. I went back home and asked my brother to drop me. I reached college 15 minutes late,” said the second-year arts student.

Rajesh Samantray, an IT professional who usually takes a city bus to Bapuji Nagar from Raghunath Nagar on the outskirts of the city, today took a town bus and was surprised to be charged higher than usual. “On other days they charge Rs 15, but today the conductor demanded Rs 30. No one opposed him. I had to attend office, so I had to give in to his demand,” said Samantray.

The autorickshaw association’s general secretary Padman Samal said the strike had been successful. “We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to people. We had informed them earlier about the bandh call. We hope the government will take steps to fulfil our demands,” said Samal.

City bus operators, however, did not comment on the strike, though sources said they had stayed off the roads fearing damage to their vehicles.

Central government offices, banks and petrol pumps remained closed because of the strike called by the trade unions. Some central government and bank employees picketed in front of their offices.

Though petrol pump owners did not confirm their participation in the strike, this morning all such facilities in the city and on its outskirts were seen closed.

Around 40 people ransacked a petrol pump at Nuagaon on National Highway-203 on the outskirts of the city when it opened in the morning.

Police said there was no violence, barring one or two stray incidents in the city because of the strike.