Farm Laws: 'Bharat Bandh' in Bihar evokes mixed response

The 'Bharat Bandh' call in Bihar evoked a mixed response on Tuesday with shops and business establishments closed for few hours. Movement of trains and vehicles was paralysed after the main Opposition parties, the RJD, Congress and the three Left organisations, hit the streets.

In the State Capital, there was a minor skirmish between the police and the bandh supporters, particularly the associates of former MP, Pappu Yadav, who used brute power to enforce bandh.

Elsewhere, the Left party workers, particularly those from the CPI, CPM and the CPI-ML, blocked the movement of trains in Bhojpur, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Jehanabad and Gaya.

The RJD and Congress workers, who supported the farmers' call for Bharat Bandh given by All India Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (AIKSS), disrupted vehicular movement on National Highway (NH-31) at Begusarai, Khagaria, Katihar and Kishanganj.

Movement on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu, the main link connecting North Bihar with Patna, was also paralysed after the RJD supporters blocked the bridge on Ganga for several hours.

The government offices and banks, however, functioned in a normal way. Private shop owners opened their business establishments after 3 pm.