Trinamool-sponsored bandh disrupts life

Kolkata, June 06 (UNI) Life remained affected in West Bengal for the second day today as a 12-hour statewide shutdown, called by the Opposition Trinamool Congress and SUCI began this morning following yesterday's dawn-to-dusk bandh by the ruling Left Front.

Both the strikes, called by the arch rivals on two separate days, were in protest against the hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG.

The BJP has also given a separate bandh call for today on the same issue.

''The bandh is going on peacefully. No major untoward incident has been reported so far,'' Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia said.

Most of the vehicles went off the road, train services were seriously affected, many shops and markets remained closed and classes were not held in educational institutions.

Attendance in most of the banks and other financial institutions and private and government offices was also reported to be below normal so far.

Railway sources said seven pairs of long distance trains of South-Eastern Railway had been cancelled and a number of other trains rescheduled from Howrah station, while many local trains running on the Eastern Railway's Sealdah section were either cancelled or detained following squatting on railway tracks by bandh supporters.

However, the city's underground metro railway functioned normally while according to official reports, work was normal in most of the factories, coal mines and the tea gardens in the state.

Trinamool Congress and SUCI supporters put up road blocks on Howrah bridge and at several other important points of the city to obstruct vehicular traffic movement.

They also took out processions in support of their demand for a roll back of the fuel price hike.

In the city, a sizeable number of people ventured out of home to report to their work places after an idle day yesterday.

However, they had a harried time in getting vehicles.

The government had on Wednesday announced an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel by about 10 per cent and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 17 per cent, the biggest hike in fuel prices in 12 years.

Government raised petrol prices by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 3 and cooking gas cylinder by Rs 50.

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