Kolkata: The ‘Bharat Bandh’ called by ten central trade unions had no impact in West Bengal on Wednesday, with the state secretariat at Nabanna registering 99 per cent employee attendance.
However, bandh supporters resorted to disruptions in a few areas. In Howrah’s Dasnagar, they blocked roads and set fire on the streets. Similar protests were held at Champadali More in Barasat, North 24-Parganas.
In Asansol, tension erupted when bandh supporters tried to stop a government bus. A quarrel broke out as members of the Trinamool Congress trade union staged a counter-demonstration to ensure the uninterrupted movement of government and private buses.
Public transport remained steady, with the State Transport Department operating around 500 CSTC buses in Kolkata and its suburbs, 200 CTC buses, and 70 WBSTC buses, all running in shifts. Control rooms were set up early in the day. In North Bengal, NBSTC bus drivers were seen wearing helmets — a precautionary measure initiated for their safety. Helmets were distributed across various routes, except in the Darjeeling Hills.
Train services were partially affected as protestors blocked tracks at multiple stations, including Jadavpur, where Left trade union members staged protests against the Centre’s “pro-corporate” reforms. Fire was lit on the roads near the Jadavpur 8B bus stand.
Eastern Railway reported brief disruptions on the Howrah and Sealdah divisions, with a few EMU locals delayed.
In Malda Division, the 15553 UP Bhagalpur–Jayanagar Express was detained briefly at Munger. A major accident was narrowly averted in the morning when the driver of an EMU train spotted a sleeper placed on the tracks between Deula and Magrahat and stopped in time.
Additionally, banana leaves thrown onto the Overhead Equipment (OHE) wires between the same stations disrupted train movements until maintenance crews cleared the obstruction.