The Hindu : Mixed response to bandh call

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 27, 2002

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Mixed response to bandh call

Army personnel keep vigil during the `Bharat bandh', called by the VHP, in Ahmedabad on Thursday. — Photo: Paras Shah

New Delhi Sept. 26 . The nation-wide bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Shiv Sena today to protest Tuesday's terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar evoked mixed response, and, was, by and large peaceful except for isolated incidents of violence in Gujarat — where two cases of stabbing were reported — Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

With special security arrangements in place throughout the country to prevent any communal backlash, the dawn-to-dusk bandh was near total in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The bandh also had some impact in Bihar, Kerala, Uttaranchal, Assam and Karnataka, where most of the educational institutions and business establishments remained closed.

The VHP claimed that the bandh was "total" in Kerala and Jammu, while it was "near total" in other States.

In the Capital, life remained largely unaffected by the bandh. Offices, educational institutions and banks functioned normally and shops and commercial establishments remained open at most of the places. Scores of Shiv Sena activists, however, forced the shopkeepers to down shutters in Chandni Chowk, Darya Ganj, Connaught Place, Karol Bagh and some areas of east Delhi. Public transport and suburban rail services were unaffected and buses, autorickshaws and private vehicles plied as usual.

The bandh evoked a near total response in Maharashtra and was peaceful barring a few incidents of stone-throwing and "rail roko'' in Mumbai. In the commercial capital, shops, major commodity markets, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed while government offices, courts, banks and various private organisations registered a thin attendance.

The VHP claimed that the bandh was "100 per cent success" in the State while the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, said it evoked 70-100 per cent response.

Even as the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange were operational, clearing transactions of the RBI were badly affected with few banks participating in the process. Incidents of stone-throwing and police lathicharge marred the bandh in Uttar Pradesh. Seventy persons were arrested while trying to enforce the shutdown, which evoked a near total response.

Supporters of the bandh indulged in heavy stone-throwing in Lucknow damaging several vehicles, official sources said.

Twenty VHP activists were arrested while taking out a procession and raising slogans in the sensitive old city area of Aligarh while 25 bandh supporters were arrested in Bhadohi. The bandh passed off peacefully in Gujarat, barring incidents of stabbing in the communally-sensitive city of Surat and arson in Vadodara even as the VHP claimed "unprecedented" response.

The Vadodara Range Special Inspector-General of Police, Deepak Swaroop, said Vadodara, Bharuch, Dahod, Narmadanagar and Panchmahals district observed a complete bandh and remained peaceful and incident-free.

In Vadodara city, a tempo parked near a place of worship at the Bhagwati Estate under Wadi police station was set ablaze by miscreants. Soon after, Army jawans staged flag marches in Wadi, City, Panigate and other sensitive areas.

In Ahmedabad, police rounded up 11 persons belonging to the majority community from Naroda Patiya. Localities inhabited by members of the minority community such as the Jawar Colony near Noorani Masjid wore a deserted look with the residents "returning" to the Haj House relief camp, where they had taken shelter during the riots.

Tension prevailed in the Tiruppur town of Tamil Nadu as four persons were injured in clashes between members of two communities when the VHP supporters tried to enforce the bandh. It evoked no response elsewhere in the State.

Though the impact of the bandh was felt mostly in the urban areas of Rajasthan, with main markets and business establishments remaining closed, normal life remained unaffected in the rural areas.

At the shrine city of Ajmer, the bandh supporters damaged the window-panes of the reservation counters at the main bus stand. The bandh call evoked no response in the areas near the shrine of Sufi saint, Kwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti.

The bandh evoked a mixed response in Karnataka and passed off peacefully barring stray incidents of violence in Bangalore. Police sources estimated ``55 to 60 per cent'' response in the State. Shimoga, Udupi, Uttar Kannada, Mysore, Kodagu, Koppal, Tumkur and Mandya were among the districts where the 12-hour bandh evoked good response affecting normal life.

Barring stray incidents of stone-throwing at private vehicles, the dawn-to-dusk hartal passed off peacefully evoking near-total response in Kerala. Markets, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed. Buses and taxis were off the road, though two-wheelers plied in urban areas.

Barring a few incidents of "rasta roko," deflating tyres of RTC buses and forcing shopkeepers to down the shutters, the bandh was peaceful in Andhra Pradesh. Police said no untoward incident was reported from any part of the State, though an effigy of the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, was burnt by the VHP activists at the Doodbowli area in Hyderabad. About 35 activists were picked up by police. — PTI, UNI

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