Maharashtra bandh: Mira-Bhayandar witnesses mixed response to state-wide shut down

Bhayandar: The twin-city of Mira-Bhayandar witnessed a mixed response to the state-wide shut down called by Dalit groups on Wednesday in protest against the violent clashes that broke out during the Bhima Koregaon battle anniversary on January 1.

After a routine beginning to the day in the morning, the effects of the bandh started showing after 11:30 am when protestors took to the street asking traders to down shutters. While traffic and pedestrian movement remained largely unaffected in most parts of the twin-city, two major junctions including, Golden Nest Circle in Bhayandar (East) and Kashimira Naka in Mira Road turned out to be the epicenter of the bandh, as protestors led by Devendra Shelekar, Surekha Gaikwad, Arun Dhabhade and Sunil Bhagat squatted on the roads bringing traffic movement to a virtual standstill.

While auto-rickshaws, though fewer than usual, plied in most parts of the twin-city throughout the day, public transport buses operated by the local civic administration stayed off roads as a precautionary measure. Looking at the tense situation, the Mira road division of Thane (rural) police had made elaborate arrangements to thwart any untoward incident, due to which the day passed off peacefully without any untoward incident being reported from the twin-city.