Maximumcitysees minimum impact ofopposition’sbandh
State govt says 47% response, Congress calls it 100%; 882 detained, six arrested
MUMBAI : The nationwide shutdown call by Congress with other Opposition parties, including Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), to protest the rising fuel prices received a lukewarm response in Mumbai and Maharashtra on Monday.
While trains and buses were running, shops in several parts of the city were shut. As many as 882 protesters were detained and six were arrested, but released later. Eight cases related to rioting, stone pelting, and acts endangering life or personal safety of others were registered.
According to the government, the percentage of the bandh ranged between 20% and 90%, with the state average of 47%. Barring sporadic incidents of stone pelting, the bandh was peaceful, the home department said. “We thank the organisers for maintaining peace. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar are thinking about giving relief to common man. A decision will be announced soon,” said minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar.
BEST’S bus operations were largely unaffected. “Eighteen buses were vandalised at Vashi Naka, Chembur, Kandivli, Lalbaug, Parel, Goregaon and other parts of the city, while the tyre of a bus was deflated. Electric buses were not brought on the road,” said Hanumant Gophane, spokesperson of BEST.
Several petrol pumps were shut, while workers of some political parties forced some shops in Chembur and Sahar to support the bandh. “Shops in several parts of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and other major cities were shut in the morning,” said a home department official.
The Maharashtra Congress called the bandh a 100% success. The party’s key leaders, including state president Ashok Chavan, Mumbai chief Sanjay Nirupam and others, participated in a protest at Andheri station at 9.40am. They tried to block trains for a brief period before they were detained and taken to DN Nagar police station. They were released by 2pm.
“They were sitting on the road and sloganeering. They were taken to the police station, along with 50 supporters, as a precautionary measure,” said Parmeshwar Ganame, senior police inspector, DN Nagar police station.
Before stopping a Borivlibound slow train on platform number three, they got on to a train from Mahim to Andheri. A western railway spokesperson said security agencies cleared the tracks within ten minutes and servicesresumedaround9.50am. Some political party workers attempted to block trains at Bhandup and Ghatkopar stations on central railway, but they were immediately asked to leave the tracks. The police foiled attempts of some political activists to enter Sion and Dadar stations.
“Scared, the state started to detain our party workers from Sunday evening. The Congress had instructed its workers not to resort to violence... For the Shiv Sena, ministerial berths and power are more important than citizens… The MNS supported the bandh, but they will not be considered for an alliance,” said Chavan.
At some places in the suburbs such as Mulund, autorickshaws remained off the roads. “Some drivers may have stopped plying owing to threatening by political activists,” said Shashank Rao, leader of auto drivers.
NCP leaders participated in the shutdown in Pune, with MP Supriya Sule, leading the protest. There were protests in Sangli, Nashik, Aurangabad and Yavatmal.
Meanwhile, the MNS resorted to violence at some places in Mumbai, Dombivli and other parts of the state. A group of MNS workers tried to wave black flags at the chief minister at an event in Prabhadevi. Alleged MNS workers also ransacked furniture outside a BJP corporator’s office at Dindoshi, and were booked. A case was registered in Dindoshi for blocking roads and deflating tyres of buses.
Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, meanwhile, said it was not possible to reduce the value added tax (VAT) or surcharge on petrol and diesel as it was waiting for a decision on inclusion of fuels under the ambit of goods and services tax (GST).
“We bore the burden of more than ₹3,067 crore after we reduced VAT twice last year. There are other states that have higher taxes on diesel than Maharashtra,” he said.
In Thane, the Congress, MNS, and NCP staged a massive rally on the Eastern Express Highway. MNS district president Avinash Jadhav forced autorickshaw drivers to stop plying near Naupada and Thane station. Congress city unit president Manoj Shinde staged a silent protest.
In Navi Mumbai, most shops remained open and traffic was normal. An all-party morcha was organised in Vashi and rasta roko agitations were staged on the Thane-belapur road. There were no reports of violence in the city. The Peasants and Workers Party of India MLC Balaram Patil, along with Congress leaders, protested in Panvel.