BJP bundh turns violent in Bengal

Shutdown in protest against price rise; many vehicles torched

 
The bundh called to protest the hike in power tariff and essential commodities saw unprecedented violence since morning as stick-wielding BJP supporters torched at least three government buses and damaged several private cars and taxis, the police said.

Since morning, the BJP activists tried to immobilise train services and block the movement of trains at both Howrah and Sealdah stations besides other key points as a result of which several local and long-distance trains were held up at various stations.

Flights operated normally, but passengers faced inconvenience as pre-paid taxis kept off the roads.

Late arrival of the police to remove the blockade only added to the people’s misery. Four buses were also damaged on VIP Road and another was set on fire in the Kankurgachi area in northern part of the city.

Even though educational institutions and business establishments remained open, many school students  and office-goers were stopped at different points in and around the city as Bharatiya Janata Party  activists flexed muscle to enforce the strike.

The bundh-sponsors ransacked and damaged a DLF building at Sector-V in Salt Lake’s IT township.

They stopped employees near Rajarhat and VIP Road near the township in the eastern fringe.

While Bharatiya Janata Party state president Rahul Sinha claimed  the 12-hour strike was complete and successful, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee alleged that the CPM had given a tacit support to the bundh.