Odisha bandh brings state to a halt as Congress protests over Balasore student death

Even as the 12-hour bandh called by opposition Congress and Left parties, seeking justice for the the FM College incident in Balasore, where a student died by self-immolation, allegedly due to sexual harassment by her department HOD, paralysed public transport, brought normal life to a standstill across the state, protestors staging dharna near Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi's residence were rounded up by police in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday afternoon.

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The bandh remained by and large peaceful till this report was filed but essential services were hit partially as vehicular movement on major roads and highways were disrupted by the agitating Congress workers.

The dawn-to-dusk strike also affected train services over a dozen of railway stations as Congress workers resorted to 'rail roko' on the day. The agitators detained Chennai-bound Coromandel Express for more than an hour at Bhadrak railway station at around 6 am, while departure of Utkal Express from Puri railway station was also delayed by at least 30 minutes due to dharna at the railway station.