PATNA: The nationwide anti-quota bandh evoked a partial response in the city on Tuesday with schools and offices registering thin attendance and vehicles staying off the roads, especially in the morning hours.
Students and office-goers could be seen waiting to catch public transport in the morning as buses and autorickshaws were few in numbers.
Suresh Pratap Singh, a resident of Kankerbagh, said the bandh was not like the previous one on April 2. “Although few vehicles were running on the roads in the morning, I didn’t face much difficulty in finding the public transport,” Singh added.
Akbari Khatoon, a resident of Ashok Rajpath, said many people preferred to stay at home fearing violence during the bandh. Some, she said, didn’t send their children to school. “Around 11am, some youths in their early 20s hit the streets with hockey sticks and rods. They were also raising slogans and asking the shopkeepers to down their shutters. However, the police swung into action and dispersed the troublemakers,” he said.
An official of a private bank near Gandhi Maidan, said, “There was no obstruction in cash transaction. In the first half, the number of customers was less. However, things looked up in the second half when people started visiting the branch.”
Seema Singh, principal of St Karen’s High School, said though classes remained suspended in the school due to the bandh, the CBSE Class XII examination went off peacefully. More than 500 students in the city appeared for Class XII sociology paper on Tuesday.
Some schools, such as St Xavier’s High School, St Michael’s High School, Loyola High School and
Notre Dame Academy, remained open. However, attendance of students was thin. National secretary of
Private Schools and Children Welfare Association Mervyn Cowell had said on Monday that most of the private schools in the city would remain shut due to the bandh.
City’s market hubs like Dak Bungalow crossing, Boring Road, Khetan Market, Hathwa Market and
Patna Market wore a deserted look in the morning. However, normal business resumed after 2pm.
Representative image 
