Bengal bandh peaceful
Subhrangshu Gupta
Tribune News Service

Kolkata, April 21
The 12-hour Bangla Bandh called by the Trinamool Congress and SUCI today to protest against the price rise and the CPI(M)’s misuse of power and police in the state, passed off peacefully.

The bandh was total in Kolkata but partial in other districts in the state. Keeping in mind the convenience of the people, Mamata Banerjee decided to withdraw the bandh two hours before the stipulated time of 6 p.m. As a result, the buses and other vehicles were seen moving in the streets after 4 p.m and the normal activities in the city and elsewhere were resumed soon.

Though the CPI(M)and Left parties had already supported the bandh, they did not participate in the bandh

against the rise in the prices of essential commodities. The members of these parties were not spotted in the streets to oppose the bandh today.

Unlike the previous bandhs, today’s bandh was an another holiday for the office-goers. Most of the government offices wore a desrted look as attendance remained thin. The schools, colleges and other educational institutions also remained closed. The examinations slated for today were postponed.

Buses, trams and other vehicles remained off the roads, though in the morning, some government buses and trains were run. Most of the long distance trains arriving in and leaving from Howrah and Sealdah stations were delayed by four to six hours.

However, the city’s metro and plane services functioned as usual, though the metro trains carried a negligible number of passengers. The services at the Salt Lake IT section were also hit as official and the public transport buses remained off the roads. Most of the drivers on duty today failed to turn up for want of the public transport.

The CPI(M) general secretary, Biman Bose criticised Mamata Banerjee for wasting a full working day just to gain political mileage. He said the left front would be continuing its protest movement against price rise instead of calling a bandh and disrupting normal life.