Bandh disrupts life; fans political debate on vox populi

Kolkata, Oct 9 (UNI) Protesting acquisition of farmland for Tata Motors' small car project, the Trinamool Congress today observed a 12-hour West Bengal bandh affecting normal life and stoking debates over spontaneous response of the people.

Chief Minister Buddhaeb Bhattacharjee, who refused to give credence to the bandh's success, said the opposition's move would not stall the proposed project at Singur in Hooghly district.

''Come what may, the Government decision is that the Tatas' small car factory will come up as soon as possible,'' he told reporters at the Writers' Building.

Mr Bhattacharjee said though the Trinamool-sponsored bandh was against acquisition of agricultural land, more than 100 peasants collected compensation cheques from the government today for their plots.

While the Congress extended support to the bandh, the SUCI and the CPI(ML) Liberation gave separate calls on the issue.

Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said barring few stray incidents nothing major had been reported in connection with the bandh, though in all 6211 demonstrators were arrested on various charges, including obstruction of roads and squatting on railway tracks.

Most of the shops, markets and business establishments remained closed, while vehicles plied in lesser numbers as people decided not to venture out.

The suburban train services from Sealdah and Howrah station were seriously affected because of obstruction of railway tracks. However, air services to and from Netaji Subhash Chandra International Airport and movement of metro railway were normal.

While attendance in Government offices was less than the average, normal functioning was reported from the state's industrial belts and the tea gardens in North Bengal.

Normal functioning was also reported from the IT sector in Salt Lake city's sector five where offices of a number of multinational companies are located.

The Home Secretary said about 40 per cent employees were present at the State Secretariat and 52 per cent attended in other Government offices.

Congratulating the people for making the bandh a ''total success'' Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee said in a statement that this reflected the people's ''spontaneous support'' to the cause the party was fighting for.

Demanding that the Government stop acquisition of farmers' land at Singur and look for an alternative site elsewhere, Party's senior leader Ajit Panja and Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee said at a joint press conference that both the parties would observe October 15 as a 'shame day' and participate in a march from the city's Gandhi statue to Singur on November 29 as part of a programme for intensifying their movement.

Describing the bandh as ''anti-industry'', Left Front Chairman Biman Basu alleged that the Trinamool Congress workers had ensured a partial success of the bandh in urban areas by creating a 'fear psychosis' and they prevented office goers from joining duty, assaulted bus drivers and sabotaged power supply to the suburban railway system.

''The bandh was forced upon the people. It did not have the spontaneous support nor was there any impact of it in the rural areas,'' he said.

The Left Front Chairman said 98 to 100 per cent attendance had been reported from different industrial areas while the tea gardens in North Bengal functioned normally.

''If the agenda of this bandh is to hinder the process of industrialisation, the Trinamool will have a fitting lesson from the people,'' he said.

While Pradesh Congress President Pradip Bhattacharjee also claimed that the bandh was a success, the SUCI and the CPI (ML) alleged that police and CPI (M) cadres attacked the opposition workers to frustrate the bandh.

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