Amid call for a shutdown across Maharashtra given by dalit leaders to protest the violence during the bicentennial celebration of the Bhima-Koregaon battle, civic buses were again targeted in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Thirteen buses of the state-run BEST civic transport service 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) said.
The city had witnessed a major disruption of road traffic owing to protests in the eastern suburbs on Tuesday.
Suburban trains were running normally on Wednesday morning though activists tried to stage blockades on tracks at Thane on the Central line and Goregaon on the Western line, railway officials said.
Credit: Janak Bhat
Mumbai's famed tiffin carriers, the dabbawalas, chose not to provide their services on Wednesday.
Mahesh Narvekar, senior official from the civic body's Disaster Management Unit, had said earlier that the BEST buses will not run on some sensitive routes including Kandivali-Akurli, Dindoshi-Hanuman Nagar, Chandivali-Sangharsh Nagar, Khairani Road-Sakinaka, Sahar Cargo, Mulund Check Naka and Jijamata Nagar.
Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners Association (SBOA), told mediapersons, "99 per cent of our buses are off the road in the state today for security reasons. Only one or two per cent of buses are on roads."
"We have decided not to ply school buses in the first shift (during morning hours) today and if circumstances allow, we will run the buses in the second shift," Garg said.
"Since law and order situation is beyond our control, we cannot take risk," he added.
Some 40,000 school buses are affiliated to the SBOA in the state.
Garg also claimed that some school buses were damaged by protesters in Mumbai on Wednesday, but police did not corroborate the claim.
Though the government has not declared a school holiday, many parents chose not to send children to school.
Vijay Shukla, a resident of suburban Vikhroli, said, "I have two kids, both studying at a school in Vikhroli East. Though school was open today, I suggested they stay at home."
Offices in major commercial hubs too witnessed low attendance, as employees stayed away from work fearing violence.
Subhash Talekar, spokesperson of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association, said, "Since most of our customers may find it difficult to reach office, we have decided to suspend our services today."
There were protests at Goregaon and Virar on the Western suburban line too. "Tracks have been evacuated of protesters and train services have been resumed at Virar and Goregaon from 9.05 am," Western Railway said in a tweet.
Mumbai Police on Wednesday registered nine cases in connection with Tuesday's violent protests. Over 100 people have been detained in the city since Wednesday.
Pune mostly peaceful
Barring a couple of incidents of stones being pelted on public transport buses, the 'bandh' in Pune started on a peaceful note.
The shutdown received a mixed response in the city since Wednesday morning, with some shops doing business with their shutters partially up.
Additional Commissioner of Police (South/North Region) Ravindra Sengaonkar said that there were two instances of stone-pelting, one in Sukhsagar Nagar and second in Singhgad Road on buses of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited.
According to PMPNL, since Tuesday, 42 buses from its fleet were stoned and since Wednesday morning, the number of buses being hit by stones stood around 10 to 12.
"Buses are being plied under instructions from the police," said a PMPMl officer.
Several private schools remained shut as a precautionary measure despite there being no official holiday being declared for educational institutions.
According to the officials of Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), the supply of vegetables reduced by 20 per cent.
According to Savitribai Phue Pune University (SPPU), a paper of Masters of Pharmacy scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.
Meanwhile some dalit organizations have decided to march to Milind Ekbote's house but Sengaonkar said that no such permission would be granted.
Ekbote along with another Hindutva outfit leader Sambhaji Bhide alias Bhide Guruji were booked under relevant sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly orchestrating the violence in Bhima Koregaon on January 1.
"There is adequate police bandobast deployed in the city and we appeal to the people to not take law into their hands," Sengaonkar appealed.
Bandh near total in Konkan belt
Groups of dalit activists jumped on railway tracks, shouting slogans and waved flags to attempt rail blockades at various stations in Palghar district, but were prevented by the security forces.
The coastal Konkan region reported a near-total shutdown, as did the dalit strongholds of Marathwada like Beed, Latur, Solapur, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Palghar. Its impact was lesser in predominantly urban areas such as Thane, Nagpur and other cities.
