New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Flights cancelled, trains disrupted, trucks and buses off the roads and shops and educational establishments closed — life was on hold in many parts of India Monday due to a daylong shutdown called by opposition parties against the hike in fuel prices.
Though the response to the shutdown varied from state to state, the strike called by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Left parties was mostly successful as schools, colleges, offices, malls, multiplexes and other establishments were closed in many cities across the country.
In many states, the strike was successful as governments belonging to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties and the Left ensured that offices and other establishments stayed shut.
At least 86 domestic flights – 46 outgoing and 40 incoming – were cancelled to and from the financial capital Mumbai due to poor response as passengers could not reach the domestic airport.
The usually bustling Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), one of the busiest in the country, wore a near-deserted look as taxis and autorickshaws remained off the roads.
Stray incidents of violence, road and rail blocks, stone-pelting of public and private vehicles forced large parts of the city and suburbs to close down.
In the national capital, stray protests were organised by the BJP and Communist parites but public transport was largely unaffected.
Shutters were down on shops in major markets , with small groups of people roaming the streets to enforce the strike. Large number of security men were deployed to maintain law and order.
‘More than 100 companies have been allotted to ensure smooth flow of traffic and peaceful demonstrations. Any violent protest will be dealt very strictly,’ said Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat.
The shutdown triggered violence in Maharashtra.
In Pune, at least 12 public buses were torched by unknown activists and two buses were damaged in Nashik, a police officer said.
Normal life in West Bengal, ruled by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), was hit hard as road and rail services were almost paralyzed and government offices were closed.
Train services in other parts of the country like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa were derailed.
In Bihar, supporters and workers of the BJP, the ruling Janata Dal-United and Left parties stopped over a dozen long route trains at Patna, Gaya, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur and Muzaffarpur railway stations.
In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, life ground to a virtual halt as party workers tried to enforce the strike.
The response was tepid in Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana where life was mostly unaffected.
In the Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, BJP workers clashed with police as senior party leaders Arun Jaitley and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi courted arrest.
‘The arrest is in protest against the wrong economic policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government… The policies are a burden on poor people,’ Jaitley told reporters in Lucknow.
His colleague in New Delhi, party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman, added: ‘The bandh has been successful… even reports from Congres-ruled states are saying that people have been downing their shutters.’
Telugu Desam Party leader and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu courted arrested in Hyderabad.
The Left parties and the BJP-led NDA are protesting against the hike in fuel prices after the central government ended curbs on petroleum pricing and hiked the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas.
The price of diesel went up by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene by Rs.3 a litre, petrol by Rs.3.50 a litre, and cooking gas by Rs.35 per cylinder. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Sunday ruled out a rollback.
