Bandh hits road, rail services in metros

Agencies

Latest updates on Bandh:

BJP workers stop Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Exp in Bangalore
35 platoons of police deployed across Bangalore
86 domestic flights in and out of Mumbai cancelled
Schools, colleges shut in Pune
Trains stopped at Samastipur in Bihar
Local trains stopped at Borivali in Mumbai

BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, M Naqvi court arrest in Lucknow.
BJP’s women wing disrupts train services in Patna.
Normal life hit in Kerala, shops & schools shut.
Heavy traffic jams reported across Delhi.
Private schools, colleges remain shut in Hyderabad
No effect in Chennai, transport services normal

 

 

New Delhi, 05 June 2010: States ruled by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Left Front shut down on Monday as Opposition parties disrupted transport services and blocked roads during their Bharat Bandh protest against the hike in fuel prices.

Senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were arrested in Lucknow while trying to lead a procession towards the main Hazratganj crossing. BJP workers claimed that a number of party activists and leaders were injured when police baton-charged the protestors.

In NDA-ruled Bihar, Punjab and Karnataka, life was thrown out of gear with agitators stopping trains and buses. Schools, colleges and business establishments remained closed as groups of protestors hit streets trying to enforce the 12-hour bandh.

In West Bengal and Kerala, air, rail and road services were disrupted. Only Air India flights operated out of NSC Bose International Airport in Kolkata as streets wore a deserted look in the eastern metropolis where CITU gave the strike call.

In Maharashtra, police cracked down on trouble makers and detained nearly 10,000 people, officials said. Considering low passenger load in view of the bandh, domestic airlines have cancelled 45 departures and 39 arrivals at the domestic airport in Mumbai.

While taxis and auto-rickshaws are off the road in the country’s financial capital, municipal buses and local trains were plying with very few passengers during the usually crowded morning hours.

At suburban Mulund railway station, BJP workers led by former MP Kirit Somaiya were detained while staging "rail roko". In suburban Borivali, Mumbai BJP president and MLA Gopal Shetty was detained with supporters during a similar protest.

Incidents of stone-pelting on buses and trains were reported from Pune and some parts of Mumbai including Vikhroli, Borivali and Kandivali. However, no one was injured.

In Delhi, the bandh evoked a lukewarm response though BJP workers blocked road, rail and Metro services in some areas. Buses, autos and private vehicles were on the streets from the morning while offices had more than average attendance.

Jaitely claimed in Lucknow: "the bandh is an unprecedented success. We are getting messages in this regard from all across the country. This protest has been widely supported by the average common man because he is really the target of UPA government’s policies".

The BJP leader said protest against the policies of the Centre will be reflected in Parliament. In Bihar, train and road services came to a virtual halt and shops and business establishment downed their shutters.

Several long distance and passenger trains, including New Delhi-Muzaffarpur Sampark Kranti Express were detained at different stations in Bihar following the agitation, East Central Railway (ECR) Chief Public Relations Officer, Dilip Kumar said.

Bandh supporters cut hose pipes of some trains and squatted and demonstrated on the railway tracks to enforce the bandh.

The Rajgir-Danapur passenger train was detained at Karahdhi, Hatia-Patna express at Jehanabad, Gaya-Patna passenger train at Islampur besides over 10 mail express trains were detained at Sasaram, Vikarmganj, Dholi, Narahan, Motihari, Sitamarhi and Jainagar railway stations in Bihar by the agitators, Kumar said.

Reports reaching the state headquarters from Muzaffarpur, Gaya, Biharsharif, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Motihari, Bettia, Siwan, Gopalganj, Chapra, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Khagaria and Katihar said the bandh evoked good response with markets remaining closed.

Stray incidents of stone pelting were reported in Karnataka where BJP activists stopped the Mysore-Bangalore passenger train briefly and shouted slogans against the UPA government at the Centre.

In Kerala, shops remained closed and buses, taxis and autorickshaws kept off the roads throughout the state, seriously affecting mobility of people. No violence was reported from anywhere.

In Andhra Pradesh, bus services were badly hit as workers of various opposition parties staged demonstrations in front of some bus depots in Khammam, Nalgonda, Ranga Reddy and Kadapa districts.

In Rajahmundhry, services of over 700 buses in nine depots have been cancelled as protestors stopped buses and organised agitations, a APSRTC official said.

Bandh supporters in Orissa picketed various Central government and PSU offices to prevent employees from reporting for duty and road and rail traffic disrupted in the state.

Besides the BJP, those participating in the bandh are Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, JD-U, CPI-M, CPI, Forward Block, RSP, AIADMK, MDMK TDP, BJD, JD(S), AGP, Akali Dal and INLD to protest against the increase in fuel prices.

 

Chennai, 05 July 2010: Normal life remained unaffected in Tamil Nadu on Monday as seven opposition parties began a dawn-to-dusk shutdown to protest the hike in fuel prices.

Buses and trains were operating and essential services like milk vans delivered with security.

The strike was called by the AIADMK, the MDMK, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the AIMMK, the All India Forward Bloc and the INL.

The PMK, which is mulling an electoral alliance with the DMK, stayed away from the strike, terming it as political and not for the welfare of the common person.

Trains stopped as shutdown begins in Bihar

Several trains were halted in Bihar as the Left parties and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) began a nationwide shutdown to protest fuel price hike in the state, authorities said.

The supporters and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Janata Dal (United) and the Left parties stopped over a dozen long route trains at Patna, Gaya, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur railway stations.

"Several trains were halted to enforce shutdown," a police officer told IANS.

Roads were blocked at various places across the state. Also, Patna schools were closed.

"The state administration have made elaborate security arrangements in view of the shutdown," said a senior government official.

In Bihar, shutdown is likely to be total as BJP and JD-U are the ruling parties and the Left parties have strong support base in half-a-dozen districts.

The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party have not joined the shutdown, instead they have called for a separate shutdown July 10.

Orissa

The nation-wide strike by non-Congress parties began on Monday, affecting normal life in Orissa as road and rail services were hit in the state, officials said.

"The movement of vehicles in both the state and the national highway has been totally affected," a senior police officer told IANS.

Several trains were running late as protesters sat on rail tracks and obstructed trains at various railway stations.

In major cities, including state capital Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela and Sambalpur, protesters marched as the day began.

They shouted slogans against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Also, hundreds of political activists staged protest in front of the central government organisations.

Although the state government has not ordered closure of schools and colleges, most of them witnessed thin attendance.

In Orissa, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and its allies are participating in the nationwide shutdown called by political parties marking the first unified showdown since the Congress returned to power last year.

The Biju Patnaik University of Technology and the Utkal University in Orissa have postponed their exams due to the shutdown. The Biju Patnaik University of Technology rescheduled its fourth semester exams of various engineering courses to July 10.

Delhi

BJP activists on Monday blocked traffic, Metro and suburban rail services in some parts in New Delhi as part of the Bharat Bandh called by Opposition parties to protest against fuel price hike.

BJP workers blocked traffic at Laxmi Nagar, ITO, Preet Vihar, Akshardham and Madhuban Chowk among other areas at around 9 am.

Some BJP workers also stopped a Metro train at Karol Bagh station, a party leader said. Trains were also stopped by protestors at Nangloi, Shakur Basti and Badli railway stations.

In Preet Vihar, some BJP activists got into a scuffle with police during the protest.

"We were trying to remove the blockades. The bandh supporters in that area wanted all of them to be arrested and they entered into a scuffle with us," a senior police official said.

Bandh supporters took out protest march in several parts of the capital.

A senior police official said Delhi Police has taken adequate security measures to ensure law and order during the protest. "Policemen are on streets to ensure that no untoward incident takes place," the official said.

Airport officials said flight operations were not affected by the bandh. Here’s a look at the major states and cities of the country.

Mumbai

Schools, colleges, many private offices remained closed, but the city’s lifeline - suburban trains were partially affected as attempts were made to stop their operations in different parts, mainly by suspected Shiv Sena activists.

In Pune, at least 12 public buses were torched by unknown activists and two buses were damaged in Nashik, a police officer said.

Similarly, some trains like the Sinhagad Express, near Pune, and the Vidarbha Express near Amravati were stopped, a railway official said.

Miscreants put some burning cardboards on the railway tracks near Thane while Shiv Sainiks stopped the suburban trains outside Borivli.

Elsewhere in Thane, activists resorted to stone-pelting which damaged at least six public buses and five autorickshaws, the police officer said.

At Mulund station, attempts were made by some party activists to stop suburban trains, but the security officials foiled their plan and detained 50 people.

Kolkata

All private airlines have suspended their airlines from Kolkata. Airlines have taken the decision considering the huge impact of Bandh in Kolkata.

Bangalore:

35 Platoons of police have been deployed across the city. Banks, schools and IT offices are shut on Monday. IT companies like Wipro and Infosys have been shut for the day

Chennai

Buses, taxis, autos are plying on roads. Schools, colleges, markets are open in Chennai.

Bhopal

It’s a complete shut down in Bhopal. All schools and colleges remained closed.

Kerala

All shops shut, no conveyance on roads and schools remained closed in Kerala. Few private vehicles are plying.

Most of Opposition parties, excluding RJD, BSP, LJP and RLD, are participating in the nation-wide strike.
The participating parties are the BJP, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, JD-U, CPI-M, CPI, Forward Block, RSP, AIADMK, MDMK TDP, BJD, JD(S), AGP, Akali Dal and INLD.

On June 25, a ministerial panel, headed by Mukherjee, had lifted the pricing controls on petroleum. As a result, petrol went up by Rs 3.50 a litre. The government hiked the prices of diesel by Rs 2 a litre, kerosene - known as the poor man’s fuel and traditionally spared during periodic fuel price hikes - by Rs 3 a litre and cooking gas by Rs 35 per cylinder.