MH-BANDH

'Maha bandh': Security tightened; transport unaffected
    Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) The 'Maharashtra bandh' called by
Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar's party on Friday to oppose the
new citizenship law saw heavy police deployment across the
state with public transport and normal life remaining largely
unaffected.
    The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has called for the
statewide shutdown to protest against the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of
Citizens (NRC).
    Barring stray incidents of stone pelting and attempt
to disrupt road traffic in Mumbai, there was not much impact
of the bandh in the metropolis.
    While a BEST (BMC's transport body) bus was stoned by
unidentified persons near Swastik Park in suburban Chembur,
VBA supporters gathered in large numbers at Teen Haath Naka in
Thane to protest against the CAA, an official said.
    Several VBA activists were detained by the police,
when they tried to stop vehicles on Eastern Express Highway at
Ghatkopar, he said.
    Partial impact of the bandh was seen in pockets like
Kurla, Sion-Trombay Road, Byculla, Dadar, Wadala and Andheri,
the official added.
    The Prakash Ambedkar-led party has claimed the support
of over 50 political and social organisations apart from
labour unions for the 'bandh'.
    Ambedkar noted that several NGOs and citizen groups
had demonstrated against the CAA and the NRC, but no political
party had done so till now.
    "That's why we are staging protest over the CAA and
the NRC. In addition to this, the economy is in a bad shape
and people's attention is being diverted. We will flag these
issues," Ambedkar said.
    In view of the 'bandh', the police tightened
securityacross the state to maintain law and order, the
official said.
    Adequate number of police personnel have been deployed
in Mumbai and its suburbs to prevent any untoward incident
during the shutdown, the official said.
    Apart from Mumbai, VBA supporters participated in the
bandh in other districts such as Solapur, Sindhudurg, Pune
Rural, Kolhapur, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Osmanabad, Beed,
Jalna, Parbhani, Latur, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Akola, Bhandara
and Yavatmal, he said.
    Meanwhile, public transport services in Mumbai,
including suburban trains, remained unaffected.
    Suburban and outstation trains on both the Central and
Western Railways, buses of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and
Transport (BEST), Metro, monorail, taxis and auto-rickshaws
were plying normally.
    Tight security was in place at all train stations and
no untoward incident has been reported till now, a Railway
official said.
    According to a BEST official, the shutdown had no
impact on their services. "Almost 98 per cent of our buses had
hit the roads by 8 am," he said.
    Although spokespersons for Metro and monorail could
not be reached for comment, sources said the operation of both
modes of public transport plied without disruptions.
    Taxi and auto-rickshaw unions said black and yellow
taxis in the city were on the roads.
    "There have been no reports of any attempt to stop
taxis from plying," taxi union leader AL Quadros said. PTI ENM
DC KK ARU
RSY RSY

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)