A bandh called by NDA, Left parties and SP to protestagainst diesel price hike, FDI in multi-brand retail and cap on subsidised LPGtoday evoked mixed response as protestors disrupted road and rail traffic inparts of UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha but it had little impact in Mumbai.
In Delhi, most of the markets remained closed and vehicularmovement was normal though protesters blocked traffic at some places.
Shops in some areas like Bhogal, Laxmi Nagar, Defence Colonyand South Extension in the capital were open in the morning hours but thoughbig markets like Khan Market, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, Karol Bagh,Chandni Chowk and Kashmere Gate were shut.
Auto rickshaws plied in the city and buses of state-runDelhi Transport Corporation (DTC) were on the roads in large numbers. At NewDelhi railway station, auto drivers staged a protests and refused to carrypassengers.
However, most of the private schools in Delhi remainedclosed.
BJP supporters blocked vehicular movement on Vikas Marg.
A BJP spokesperson said the party will be staging protestsat around 100 locations in the capital.
A senior Delhi Police official said a large number ofpersonnel have been deployed. "We have ensured that every major road haspolice presence," he said.
Samajwadi Party and BJP workers staged demonstrations andstopped trains at a number of places in Uttar Pradesh.
Protestors stopped trains in Mathura, Agra, Varanasi,Allahabad and Lucknow while BJP workers and traders blocked the Agra-GwaliorHighway by burning tyres.
Major markets remained closed at a number of places in UP,including in the state capital, official sources in Licknow.
Raising slogans against FDI in retail, a group of SP workersheld a demonstration outside the Walmart store at Sultanpur in Lucknow. Theparty also protested outside Divisional Railway Manager's office in Hazratganj.
The bandh evoked little response in Mumbai owing to Ganeshfestivities across Maharashtra. Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS)have kept away from the day-long bandh due to the festival.
Road and train services were also hit in several parts ofBihar. A group of BJP workers blocked rail traffic at Patna junction andstopped movement of a number of long distance express and passenger trains.
Life in the Kolkata and elsewhere in West Bengal wasdisrupted due to the 12-hour bandh called by Left parties.
Though airport services were normal, train services inEastern Railway and South Eastern Railway were disrupted, officials said.
Howrah-Pune Duranto Express, which started from Howrah ontime, was stopped by the squatters here, railway sources said.
Services of the Metro rail, Kolkata's lifeline, were normal,officials said.
Airport sources said the flight operations were normal inKolkata airport, except cancellation of two Indigo flights - Kolkata-New Delhiand Kolkata-Agartala which were scheduled to fly in the morning.
Normal life was affected in Odisha, barring the westernregion, due to disruption in train and road traffic during the bandh calledseparately by BJP and Left parties to protest the recent decisions of UPAgovernment.
While state government offices, banks and insurance servicesremained closed on the occasion of "Nuakhai", a major festival ofwestern districts of the state, organisers of the dawn-to-dusk shut-down havekept the celebrations out of the purview of the protest.
In Karnataka, the bandh affected normal life as shops andoffices chose to remain shut. Only essential commodities like milk and medicalservices are available but all schools and colleges were closed. TheSecretariat in Bangalore wore a deserted look but the high court and lowercourts were functioning.
In Congress-ruled Rajasthan, the bandh call got a mixedresponse. In Jaipur, major markets and business establishments remained closedand public transport was hit partially as many private buses and autorickshawsremained off road.
