Odishatv Bureau
Bhubaneswar: Normal life was disrupted in several parts of the state due to the country-wide `dawn to dusk` strike called by eleven central trade unions to protest against "anti-labour" policies of the UPA government. Employees and staff of the public sector banks, NABARD and postal department employees and members of seven trade unions stayed away from work in support of the bandh call. 

Train services and road traffic were affected as strike supporters blocked railway tracks in some places and buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws remained off the roads, police said. Several trains were halted in Bhubaneswar, Khurda Road, Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur due to demonstrations on the tracks, they said.

The strike also affected functioning of post offices, insurance and other offices as trade union activists held picketing and demonstrations in many areas to enforce the bandh. In the state capital, shops and business establishments remained closed and the roads wore a deserted look with very thin traffic. Petrol pumps too remained closed.  

A spokesman of the Rourkela Steel Plant said functioning of the plant was normal with about 95 per cent attendance. The bandh, however, remained peaceful. No untoward incident was reported from any part of the state.

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