Coimbatore: Normal life was thrown out of gear in the city as more than 90% commercial establishments and shops remained shut in response to the bandh called by the opposition parties led by DMK on Thursday.
At an all-party meeting on Wednesday, the opposition parties had urged commercial establishments, theatres, small and micro industries, trade centres, vegetable markets, hotels, bakeries, autorickshaw associations and trade unions to make the bandh a huge success.
While 98% Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses hit the roads as usual, more than 80% private buses and autos remained off the road till 6pm. Traffic, however, came to a standstill as cadres of various political parties staged road roko at major junctions across the district.
“At the dawn, at least 90% buses were seen on roads. But as the day progressed, a large number of buses stopped the service due to road blockades,” said Babu of Private Bus Owners Association.
Some miscreants, meanwhile, pelted stones at a private bus near Saravanampatti. Three TNSTC buses also came under attack near Anna statue on Avinashi road, Saravanampatti and Kalapatti.
In view of the bandh, State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) had earlier itself announced plans to cancel bus services from Coimbatore to Karnataka. However, its plans to operate buses to Kerala had to be called back after the district witnessed stone pelting incidents.
The bandh hardly affected the educational institutes, as more than 90% private schools and colleges functioned in the district. “It is annual examination time at private schools. We decided not to join the bandh, as we did not want to reschedule the examination,” said R Vishalakshi of Tamil Nadu Private Matriculation School Association. According to him, schools witnessed more than 95% attendance on Thursday.
Most government schools also witnessed more than 80% attendance. However, some schools saw low attendance as bus services were completely affected in some pockets of the district.
