Maharashtra crippled by bandh, Mumbai simmers 48 buses damaged, 12 flights cancelled
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The Maharashtra bandh called by Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar crippled road, rail and air traffic in the state on Wednesday and brought the country’s financial capital to a halt.
The bandh, called in protest against caste clashes in Pune last week on the 200th anniversary of the Bhima- Koregaon battle, kept the state on the edge despite the presence of 21,000 security personnel.
All three railway lines — Western, Central and Harbour — were affected as protestors stalled train operations.
Shops, schools and local transport in some parts of Mumbai remained shut due to violent protest across the city. While the state government said it had not declared a holiday in schools due to the bandh, bus operators didn’t run buses for fear of violence.
B. R. Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, who had called the bandh to protest against the state government’s “failure” to stop the violence at Bhima- Koregaon village in Pune, withdrew the bandh at 4.30 pm.
Announcing the bandh withdrawal, he alleged that rightwing leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote were behind the Pune violence and demanded that they be arrested and made to
Page 1 face the same legal process as Mumbai blasts accused Yakub Memon.
“Nearly 50 per cent of the state’s population took part in the shut- down. Not only dalits, but OBCs also participated in the bandh,” Mr Ambedkar said.
Except for a couple of incidents, the bandh was largely peaceful, he said.
However, the situation on roads for the better part of the day belied his claim as incidents road blockades, arson and stone- pelting were reported in Mumbai and elsewhere. In light of the violence, Section 144 has been imposed in Thane till midnight of January 4.
Hundreds of passenger were stranded at the Mumbai airport and no shows were reported on several flights even as angry demonstrations on the street outside the airport disrupted air operations. Officials said 12 flights were cancelled and 235 were delayed.
The suburban railway network saw 29 instances of rail- roko protests by dalit activists and several long- distance trains were delayed for hours. Protesters also blocked all highways and arterial roads in city and vandalised 48 BEST buses.
BEST, Metro and Railways had to stop their services because of the violence. More than 40 cars and auto rickshaws were attacked in Vikhroli and Govandi area. Some auto drivers were also dragged out of their vehicles and thrashed by mobs. There were also reports of shops being attacked in some localities in Chunabhatti and Chembur.