Dalit leaders call off Maharashtra bandh

Mumbai's famed tiffin carriers, Dabbawalas, chose not to provide their services. The bandh also affected the film and television industry with some shoots being disrupted and others being cancelled

Activist and grandson of BR Ambedkar, Prakash Ambedkar, withdrew the shut-down across Maharashtra called in the wake of Bhima Koregaon violence near Pune.

Thirteen buses of the civic transport service 'BEST' were damaged by protesters in Kalanagar area (Bandra), Dharavi, Kamraj Nagar, Santosh Nagar, Dindoshi and Hanuman Nagar, an official from the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told PTI.

Mumbai's famed tiffin carriers, Dabbawalas, chose not to provide their services. The bandh also affected the film and television industry with some shoots being disrupted and others being cancelled as a precautionary measure.

The bandh evoked a partial response in Ahmednagar district no incidents of violence or stone-pelting being reported till late afternoon. Schools and colleges remained shut as a precautionary measure and buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) stayed off the roads, said officials.

The effect of the bandh was seen in areas like Shrirampur, Kopergaon, Haregaon, Bhingar, Shevgaon, Jamkhed and Shirdi among other places. Police officials said that heavy deployment of personnel was in place in sensitive areas of the district to prevent any untoward incident.

Suburban trains were running normally morning though activists tried to stage blockades on tracks at Thane on the Central line and Goregaon on the Western line, railway officials said.

(With agency inputs)