Bharat Bandh: Normal life out of gear, everywhere

5.15pm: Bandh supporters exempted the entrance test of the Super-30 allowing the famed study centre to scan its possible entrants.

“I am thankful that the bandh supporters did not create any trouble at the entrance test centre which shows their sensitivity,” said Anand Kumar founder of the institute which provides free coaching to poor students for IIT-JEE.

Students, including physically challenged ones, from far-flung areas of the state came to appear for the test for the institute which was hailed by the Time magazine, Discovery channel and ‘Monocle’ magazine of the UK.

4.00pm: In Mumbai most of the film studios including Filmcity, Filmistan, Mehboob and Filmalaya either had no bookings for shooting or cancelled their scheduled shoots.

“Due to bandh no shoots for movies or TV serials were scheduled for today. There was no booking also for today,” Vidya Zode, assistant accountant from Filmcity told PTI.

A similar situation was witnessed at Filmistan, Filmalaya and other studios.

3.51pm: In Jammu, normal life was thrown out of gear as public transport remained off roads and offices registered thin attendance.

Shops and business establishments around the city also remained closed amid protests from BJP and other political parties, including CPI(M).

3.33pm: In Meghalaya, tourists were stranded in their hotel rooms as taxis are off the road in most parts of the state.

In Tura and Jowai towns, shops were closed and vehicular traffic was thin.

Meanwhile, there were reports of stone pelting in certain areas along the National Highway connecting Guwahati and Silchar via Shillong, officials said.

Many banking institutions remained closed while government offices were partially affected due to the bandh.

3.20pm: BJP’s Arun Jaitley demands rollback in the petrol price hike, blaming government for policy paralysis and the shocking GDP growth numbers.

3.10pm: In Uttarakhand, three BJP MLAs cycled their way to the Assembly to register their protest against spiralling prices of essential commodities.

Banshidhar Bhagat (Kaldhungi), Arvind Pandey (Gadarpur) and Sahdev Pundir (Sahaspur) reached the Assembly in the morning.

“We are registering our protest as the prices of all commodities are sky-rocketing. How can a poor man survive in

2.50pm: In Chandigarh, rail traffic was disrupted as BJP activists held a demonstration close to the Chandigarh railway station causing detention of a few trains, including the New Delhi-Chandigarh-Kalka Himalayan Queen and the New Delhi-Chandigarh-Kalka Shatabdi Express.

Commercial establishments including shops, markets at most of the places in Punjab including Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Batala, Kapurthala, Mohali, Pathankot and Amritsar remained closed, though factories and other industrial units were operational.

However, emergency services, including hospitals and chemist shops remained open.

Road transport was also hit due to the bandh, with majority of buses, including private ones, remaining off the road in Punjab, causing inconveniences to people.

Truckers, fearing damage to their vehicles, also did not ply in the wake of the bandh call.

2.45pm:  In Bangalore, as many as 15 buses were damaged in stone pelting and two buses set on fire in some parts of BJP-ruled Karnataka as the bandh called by NDA and Left parties to protest the petrol price hike disrupted normal life in the state today.

Business establishments remained closed and schools and colleges declared a holiday. Buses, autorickshaws and taxis remained off the roads in several parts of the state.

2.40pm: In Kolkata shops and other establishments were open in most places, but remained closed in certain areas in the state including at Barabazar, the largest wholesale goods hub in eastern India, where BJP has a good presence.

The Kolkata Police arrested 35 bandh supporters from different parts of the metropolis for vandalising vehicles and blocking roads.

A few buses and some other vehicles were damaged at Barasat, an important junction connecting the city to north Bengal and Bangladesh, in the morning by bandh enforcers.

2.30pm: 1,722 people across Maharashtra have been detained by police for creating disturbance. At least 15 separate incidents of violence reported from Mumbai and 57 buses have been reportedly damaged.

Banks in the city witnessed thin business in the nation’s financial capital today following the nationwide bandh called by NDA and Left parties against the steep hike in petrol prices last week.

While branches were open as the city transport system was not impacted by the strike, the banking district in the city’s southern periphery witnessed low business because there was a near-total compliance to the bandh call by traders and other commercial establishments.

1.25pm: In Punjab, commercial establishments, including shops and markets, at Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Batala, Kapurthala, Pathankot and Amritsar remained closed, though factories and other industrial units were operational.

However, chemist shops and medical services providers were open.

Reports from Chandigarh said that several BJP activists held a protest close to the tracks of Chandigarh railway station following which the New Delhi-Chandigarh-Kalka Himalayan Queen was stopped just before the railway station leaving a number of people stranded.

Another train running between Bhiwani and Kalka also got held up due to the protest.

The bandh also hit road transport network with buses, including private, remaining off the road, in various districts including Patiala, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Kapurthala. Majority of truckers were also not plying their vehicles.

Shopkeepers in Phagwara were forced by protesters belonging to SAD and BJP to shut down the shutters of their shops.

Workers of SAD and BJP were also seen persuading the shopkeepers and owners of other commercial establishments to shut down their shops in order to make the bandh successful.

BJP and SAD workers held protest rallies at various locations in Punjab.

1.20pm: Normal life in Tripura was disrupted with schools and colleges, financial institutions and banks remaining closed. Government offices reported very thin attendance, while vehicular traffic was off the roads. However, police said that the bandh was peaceful.

1.15 pm: In Arunachal Pradesh, all business establishments, educational institutions, central government offices and banking institutions remained closed while attendances in state government offices remained thin, official sources said.

Streets of Itanagar wore a deserted look with all commercial, public and private vehicles remaining off the road. However, state transport buses were seen plying with escorts.

The bandh enforcers, however, exempted students who are appearing in the joint engineering and medical entrance examinations being conducted today.

12.55pm: The Bharat Bandh has brought Bihar to a virtual standstill.

“Protestors blocked railway tracks in Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga, Hajipur and Bhagalpur, disrupting train services. The strikers have been forcibly stopping trains at various railway stations since morning,” a railway official said. Protestors are burning tyres on the train tracks.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded at scores of railway stations, bus stations and taxi stands from morning. Police said that more than 1,000 workers and leaders of the NDA and Left parties have been arrested since the shutdown came into effect.

Senior Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader and NDA convenor Sharad Yadav was arrested in Saharsa district along with JD-U MP from Khagaria parliamentary constituency Dinesh Chandra Yadav, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shahnawaz Hussain was arrested in Bhagalpur where he was leading protestors.

According to police, over a dozen legislators of the JD-U and BJP have been arrested.

Meanwhile protestors damaged a number of vehicles in state capital Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga to enforce the shutdown, a police official said.

A group of ruling NDA activists also ransacked the Mairwa railway station in Siwan district. At Patna’s busy Dak Bungalow crossing, JD-U and CPI-ML workers clashed over burning of an effigy of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar’s main Opposition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and its alliance partner Lok Janshakti Party, did not join the shutdown.

12.08am: With the Bharat Bandh shutting down most public transport services such as autorickshaws, taxis and buses in Mumbai and Delhi, train services are ensuring that commuters in these cities are not completely stranded. However in Delhi, as the metro was the only option available to commuters, the trains and stations were jam packed.

At the Rajiv Chowk Metro station, there was a near-stampede like situation. The Metro was also running slow,” said a Delhi commuter traveling to Gurgaon from Rajiv Chowk, to IANS.

In Mumbai local trains are also crowded, but commuters are facing problems commuting from stations to their offices and homes.

11.51am: Left leaders supporting the Bharat Bandh in the national capital have been taken into police custody, and are being held at the Daryaganj police station.

Meanwhile BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was also arrested in Delhi earlier. Naqvi courted arrest, as he was leading a party rally, attempting to block one of the main roads in the national capital. The BJP has said it will force Delhi into a complete shutdown, and have announced plans of starting a ‘Chakka Dam’ in East Delhi.

“The very fact that this shutdown is being followed on such a large scale all over India shows that the common man won’t tolerate price hikes and is frustrated by the government’s current scheme of things,” said Naqvi.

“People are with the BJP and we will try our best to support the common man’s initiative,” Naqvi, protesting with party workers at the Akshardham flyover", he added.

With several autorickshaw unions joining the bandh, nearly 55,000 autos and 15,000 taxis are expected to stay off the roads in Delhi. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have also threatened to block 100 intersections in the capital as part of the shutdown.

Protesting will be tiring work however, given the fact that the minimum temperature in the national capital will be 31.3 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal, and the weather office forecasting a maximum of about 45 degrees Celsius.

Continues on next page… 11.40am: The Bharat Bandh has shut down much of Maharashtra and Mumbai in particular, with public transport going off the roads and government buses being stoned in several places.

Despite stringent security measures taken by the government, there were at least four incidents of government buses being stoned in Pune and Thane, as the shutdown by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, Left, Samajwadi Party and others got underway this morning.

Several top opposition leaders, including BJP state chief Sudhir Mungantiwar, Gopinath Munde, Kirit Somaiya, Sardar Tara Singh, Gopinath Munde and others, were detained for protesting in public places.

As Mumbai woke up this morning, a majority of the BEST (Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply and Transport) public buses were seen on the roads along with normal suburban train services. However, services were hit later in the day. Most people preferred to remain indoors in the near-total absence of autorickshaws and taxis.

Authorities at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport made special arrangements for passengers arriving or departing from Mumbai. The focus was also on transit passengers, who need to commute between the national and international terminals.

11.00am: The Bharat Bandh has evoked a partial response in Tamil Nadu, as public transport buses and auto-rickshaws were plying as usual and shops remained open in most parts of the state.

However, five buses were damaged and some shops were closed down by protestors in Kanyakumari. In Coimbatore, around 500 km from here, some shops were shut down as the BJP has a good support in the district.

Two buses were also damaged by protestors in Cuddalore district.

**10.35am:**BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been arrested in Delhi. Naqvi courted arrest, as he was leading a party rally, attempting to block one of the main roads in the national capital. The BJP has said it will force Delhi into a complete shutdown, and have announced plans of starting a ‘Chakka Dam’ in East Delhi.

With several autorickshaw unions joining the bandh, nearly 55,000 autos and 15,000 taxis are expected to stay off the roads in Delhi. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have also threatened to block 100 intersections in the capital as part of the shutdown. Protesting will be tiring work however, given the fact that the minimum temperature in the national capital will be 31.3 degrees Celsius, five notches above the normal, and the weather office forecasting a maximum of about 45 degrees Celsius.

While many Delhiites suffered due to the shutdown called by the Left parties, many have opted to use the Delhi Metro.

Nearly 300 trader associations in the city will also keep markets shut to support the shutdown.

10.42am: Sporadic incidents of violence have been reported from Bihar. Bharat Bandh supporters damaged a number of vehicles in Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga to enforce the shutdown, a police official said.

Hundreds of workers of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forced shops and commercial establishments to close down in the state. A group of ruling NDA activists also ransacked the Mairwa railway station in Siwan district.

Protesters blocked railway tracks in Patna, Gaya, Darbhanga and Hajipur, disrupting train services. “The strikers have been forcibly stopping trains at various railway stations since morning,” a railway official said.

10.35am: Several parts of Odisha are also facing a shutdown, as protesters blocked roads and highways in several areas and disrupted traffic. Train services were also hit as protesters squatted on rail tracks at the Cuttack and Bhubaneswar railway stations.

10.23am: More reports of stone throwing have been reported in the Pune, Nagpur and Thane districts. In Mumbai, BEST buses were pelted with stones in Mulund and Dadar, while BJP activists staged noisy protests outside Borivali station, at S V Road in Kandivali and Chembur.

Local trains and buses were plying as usual in most parts of the city. However, transport was hit in Mulund, Dadar, Worli and Currey Road areas due to stone pelting of BEST buses. The dabbawalaas, who supply tiffin to office goers have also taken a day off.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai University has announced that there will no change in its exam schedule, irrespective of the nationwide bandh.

10.15am: JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav has been detained in Saharsa, Bihar for leading a protest march. The JD (U) have also begun a ‘rail roko’ campaign in Patna, affecting at least four train services.

10.10am: The BJP has hailed the Bharat Bandh as a huge success. “The people have come together to speak up against the government. It is clear that people support the movement because people have come together from across the country”, said a senior BJP official to the media.

10.05am: In West Bengal, the supporters of the 12-hour bandh called by the NDA blocked roads in some districts and also 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.

Incidents of violence were also reported from the state with supporters damaging buses in some places. A few buses, cars, taxis, trams are running in the metropolis.

The state government has made elaborate security arrangements for the bandh. It had also issued a circular, warning government employees against taking leave.

9.55am: More reports of violence are coming in, this time from Maharashtra where ten buses have been pelted with stones. Buses were also attacked in Pune and Satara. No further details with regard to the extent of the damage are immediately available. Watch this space.

9.42am: The Bharat Bandh has come into effect across various cities in India, with a joint opposition calling for a complete shut down to protest the petrol price hike. Several protests have also been planned for throughout the day.

Violence has bewn reported from Pune and Satara, with several buses damaged, while Samajawadi Party workers have blocked train tracks in Lucknow, with its student wing stopping an express train en route to Allahabad. Other factions of the party have stopped three train services in Varanasi as well.

The Bandh is particularly effective in Gujarat, which has a BJP led government. The state has seen a complete shut down of all public transport services and reporters in the area say life there is at a complete standstill. The BJP are also holding protest rallies in Ahmedabad with workers also staging a sit in outside the Ahmedabad stock exchange.

The BJP ruled Bangalore is also affected, with buses not plying in the city. Shops and business establishments have also remained shut in several parts of Karnataka. In stray incidents of violence targeting state-run buses, some persons torched three Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses early morning and stoned about a dozen forcing the authorities to withdraw bus services.

As a precaution, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also suspended services in some districts such as Kolar, Ramangara, Chikkaballapur, Hubli-Dharwad and Hassan. Meanwhile Protests have also begin in several Indian cities such as New Delhi, Patna and Amritsar.

With inputs from Agencies