Bharat bandh evokes mixed response
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies

New Delhi, May 31 2012: The nationwide bandh called by the NDA and Left parties to protest the petrol price hike on Thursday evoked a mixed response amid incidents of stone pelting, arson and road blockades in Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

In the national capital, the bandh did not evoke much response though party supporters blocked traffic in some places.

The bandh threw normal life out of gear in some parts of the State.

Yet, some private vehicles could be seen plying on the roads although all public transport suspended service for the day.

On account of the bandh which was supported by Left parties, all the markets and shops of Khwairamband Keithel remained shut.

All educational institutions were also closed but Government offices were opened as usual.

However, flight service from/to Tulihal Airport was not affected.

Attempts by Left parties and members of Trade Unions to stage a protest demonstration at Dharamsala, Thangal Bazar was foiled by police.

However, the bandh had little impact at Jiribam with vehicles plying on NH-37 as usual, reports our Jiribam correspondent.

Shops remaining closed on account of the Bharat bandh at Paona Keithel

Moreover, all shops, markets and educational institutions remained open.

There is no report of any untoward incident.

Small shops were seen open in many areas in the morning while commuters complained that there were less autos on roads as a number of auto and taxi unions have joined the protest.

In the financial capital, Mumbai, bandh supporters pelted stones at buses in two suburban areas of the city.

Elsewhere in Maharashtra, activists pelted stones at 13 buses in Pune, 10 in Nagpur and Thane districts and stopped some buses by blocking roads in Satara district.

Local trains and buses were plying as usual in most parts of Mumbai.

The bandh disrupted normal life in parts of BJP-ruled Karnataka where bandh supporters set on fire three buses and stoned about a dozen others forcing authorities to withdraw bus services in the city.

Public transport was hit and shops and business establishments remained shut in several parts of Karnataka.

There was no impact of the bandh in Kerala and a lukewarm response to the stir in Tamil Nadu.

In Bihar, NDA Convener and JD-U national president Sharad Yadav and BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain were among 800 activists taken into custody while enforcing the bandh.

Yadav, who along with 700 odd supporters took out processions in Saharsa town to enforce the call, was taken into custody.

Hussain, the BJP National Spokesman, and others were detained in Bhagalpur town while trying to enforce the bandh.

Yadav demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resign immediately for the "failure" of his government to control the spiralling prices of petroleum products and essential commodities.

In West Bengal, bandh supporters blocked some roads in some areas and squatted on railway tracks.

Bandh supporters blocked the Howrah Bridge, which connects the metropolis to the Howrah district.

They also blocked roads at Chapadali more in Barasat, in Bankura district, Budge Budge and some other places, police said.

However, buses, cars, taxis, trams were running in the metropolis though in less number.

Normal life was affected in Punjab due to the strike.

Commercial establishments in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Batala, Kapurthala, Pathankot and Amritsar remained closed, though factories and other industrial units were operational.

The impact of bandh was also visible on the transport network with buses including private ones remaining off the road, causing inconvenience to people, as per reports pouring in from various districts including Patiala, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Kapurthala.