Balangir: Local resident Akrura Pradhan, who works at Patnagarh and goes to his workplace by bus, on Thursday failed to reach there because traffic was disrupted in view of the two-day strike observed by the Balangir Joint Action Committee and the Congress demanding construction of a bypass in the town.

"At the bus stop, I was told that it won't ply today because of the strike. So, I was forced to take a leave," he said.

Nilima Padhi, a homemaker, said she could not serve the dishes to some guests, who visited her in the morning. "I wanted to cook something special for them. But, I had to return handed from the nearest market as it remained closed because of the strike," she said.

Like the duo, many had to suffer as life was thrown out of gear on the first day of the strike in the town.

All government and private offices, banks and insurance offices remained closed. School and colleges declared a holiday. Commuters faced difficulties as vehicular traffic was paralysed, while business establishments downed their shutters.

In the morning, activists of the Congress and the committee thronged various places to appeal to the people to shut down their establishments.

Several organisations such as the Balangir Citizen Committee, Balangir Action Committee, district bar association, Private Bus Operators' Association, Truck Owners' Association and the Merchant Association supported the strike.

A meeting of various organisations of the town was convened on Wednesday evening in the wake of an accident, in which a truck mowed down a girl student on Wednesday morning. The meeting expressed concern over the frequent accidents in the town as there were no bypass roads leading to congestion on the town streets. It was decided to take up an agitation in a bigger way for the bypass. Besides, it was unanimously decided to observe a strike for two days in a row on Thursday and Friday.

AICC member Samarendra Mishra said a bypass road had been a long-standing demand of the local residents. But, it was delayed because of the indifferent attitude of both the central and state governments. "Accidents have been a regular affair on Balangir roads as there is no bypass in the town. Five lives have been lost in the past four days. Both the governments in the state and at the Centre are doing nothing to get the project materialised. This strike is a wake-up call. If they don't respond to it, the agitation will be intensified in the future," Mishra said.