Banks and some other business establishments were closed. In some localities here and other parts of the state shopkeepers defied the bandh call, officials said.
Lapang said, "Shopkeepers keeping shops open show that the people do not accept HNLC." Traffic was thin on the highways and no untoward incident was reported, the police said. The outfit said the bandh was a "protest against the Centre which has failed to address the problems of the indigenous people".
Describing Chidambaram''s visit as a "political mistake", HNLC in an email yesterday said, "Such mistakes have brought trouble to the people of the state."