12-hour Trade Bandh in Odisha in Tribute to CRPF Personnel Killed in Pulwama Attack

The attack in Pulwama on Thursday, one of the deadliest in Jammu and Kashmir, killed CRPF personnel and injured five others when a suicide bomber of the Pakistan-based terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad, blew up an explosive-laden vehicle.

​Bhubaneswar: Business activities came to a halt across Odisha Monday following a nationwide trade bandh called by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) as a tribute to the CRPF jawans martyred in Pulwama terror attack.

Shops, business establishments and commercial markets remained shut throughout the state as different traders bodies extended support to the 12-hour trade bandh.

Normal life remained largely unaffected as vehicles plied as usual in the state during the trade bandh, backed by Odisha Byabasayee Mahasangh in solidarity with the nation and families of 40 martyred soldiers.

While medicine shops and petrol outlets were kept out of the purview of the trade bandh, some of them voluntarily shut operations for some time as a mark of solidarity, a functionary of the mahasangh said.

Traders and business outfits spontaneously supported the call all over the state including places like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Berhampur, Sundargarh, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Angul and Jajpur, he said.

Cuttack Chamber of Commerce said steps will be taken for extending some financial assistance to the families of the two martyred Odia CRPF jawans - Manoj Kumar Behera and Prasanna Kumar Sahu.

All traders were requested to close their establishments as a mark of tribute to the martyrs, while vehicular traffic was not affected, said the president of Sambalpur Chamber of Commerce, Arun Patwari.

Arun Mukherjee, general secretary of Koshal Byabasayee Sangha, said the support came spontaneously from the entire trading and business community.