Bharat Bandh passes off peacefully, state runs additional buses
Kolkata: The bandh called on Tuesday demanding withdrawal of the farm laws passed off peacefully apart from a few stray incidents.
The state, however, witnessed protests against the anti-people policy of the BJP led centre by Trinamool Congress at all the 341 blocks in the state. The party workers put up banners and shouted slogans assuring support to farmers from across the country following the footsteps of the party chief Mamata Banerjee.
On Tuesday left parties tried to force people to observe the bandh. In many places road blockades were put up. As a result not only the people were harassed but also many patients suffered a lot inside ambulances which got stuck in traffic congestion.
Though the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) arranged for sufficient numbers of buses, only 150 private buses plied on Tuesday. Usually around 3,500 private buses and around 1,300 state run buses ply daily. On Tuesday around 1,500 WBTC buses plied across the city and its suburbs.
Train services were also affected due to protest by the left parties. Train services in Sealdah Division were obstructed at Deula, Jadavpur in Diamond Harbour Section, Madhyamgram, Habra, Ashoknagar and Dum Dum Cantonment in Bangaon Section, Dakshin Barasat in the Sealdah – Lakshmikantapur Section and Kankinara in the Sealdah-Ranaghat Section.
Bandh supporters threw banana leaves on the overhead wire between Hotor and Baruipur on the up line and between Bahirpua and Sangrampur both on the Sealdah-Diamond Harbour Section. In the Howrah Division, obstructions were made at Rishra, Saktigarh and Bally stations.
"As a sequel to these marginal obstructions, 29 trains in the Sealdah Division and eight trains in the Howrah Division had to be cancelled," said an official of Eastern Railway.
The squatters had to call off obstruction with the intervention of RPF and GRP personnel at several places. However, there was no incident of any obstruction to train services over Asansol and Malda Divisions Eastern Railway.
Agitations over South Eastern Railway have been staged at various locations viz. between Chengail and Bauria, between Uluberia and Bir Shibpur, at Ramrajatala between Tikiapara and Santragachi of Kharagpur Division, between Jhinkpani and Talaburu of Chakradharpur Division and Bokaro Steel City Station of Adra Division etc.
"As a result, four special Express trains and 32 EMU Locals have suffered detention enroute short while. Two pairs of suburban local trains have been cancelled in Kharagpur Division. Presently, Howrah-Kharagpur section and other sections of South Eastern Railway are obstruction free," said an official of South Eastern Railway.
