12-hour "Bangla bandh" brings life to standstill

Kolkata, Mar 16 (UNI) Barring a few sporadic incidents, the Opposition-sponsored dawn-to-dusk ''Bangla bandh'' to protest the killing of 14 people at Nandigram, was by and large peaceful.

Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee said sporadic incidents had been reported from several parts of the city, but there was ''nothing major.'' Tension prevailed in several areas where activists from rival political parties nearly came to blows but police intervened promptly to calm down the situation, he said, adding 150 people from different political parties had so far been arrested on various charges.

'' All parties have taken out processions and police have not declared any bar on them, but we are not allowing any road blockades.

In some places a few vehicles have been damaged. An estimated 15 to 20 per cent government buses have been plying, '' Mr Mukherjee said.

A ten-member CBI team has reached site of incident, IG (Western Range) Anup Gupta said.

While the Trinamool Congress, Congress and the SUCI gave separate calls for a 12-hour bandh, the BJP called the people for observing a 24-hour statewide bandh, protesting the police firing at Nandigram on March 14 and demanding resignation of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

The other Opposition CPI(ML-Liberation) and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had extended support to the bandh call.

At Nandigram, the bandh evoked total response. All shops and markets remained closed in both east and west Midnapur district.

While shops and markets remained closed in most parts of the state, train services at Howrah and Sealdah divisons of Eastern Railway were disrupted following squatting on tracks by the bandh protagonists.

However, Metro Railway services were as usual till reports last came in.

Air services at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport remained normal today.

Altogether 15 domestic flights departed in the morning, while five arrived, according to an Airport Authority of India (AAI) official.

Most of the passengers catching early morning flight had stayed overnight at the airport or arrived before the bandh started.

Domestic airlines Indian operated flights to Port Blair, Mumbai, Silchar and Delhi in the morning. Indian flights from Bangalore and Mumbai arrived on schedule.

In all 14 international flights arrived and departed from the NSCBI airport.

Most of the vehicles went off the roads.

Official sources said a government bus was set on fire by some unidentified miscreants near Sealdah, while bandh supporters pelted stones, damaging government vehicles at few other places.

Altogether 14 people were kiled in police firing at Nandigram when the law keepers faced resistance from villagers as the entire area remained cut-off from rest of the state because of anti-land acquisition movement by the Bhumi Uchhed Protirodh Committee, a local platform of Opposition parties.

UNI