Lukewarm response for Bharat Bandh in BJP-ruled Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The Bharat Bandh called by farmer unions and supported by the Congress failed to have much impact till noon in BJP-ruled Gujarat even as protesters tried to block highways at some places by placing burning tyres on roads.

Barring a few places in the state, all the markets, shops, banks, government and private offices, and other commercial establishments functioned normally.

Normal life in major cities remained unaffected as buses plied on roads.

The BRTS (Bus Rapd Transit System) functioned as per schedule in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat.

About 5,000 petrol pumps also remained open in the state as their associations have not extended support for the shutdown.

"The shutdown call left no major impact in the state.

There are no reports of any violence or any other unwarranted happenings.

Routine life was not affected by the bandh call," said an official of the state police control room.

Police personnel have been deployed across the state to prevent any untoward incident.

The government has imposed section 144 of the CrPC, which bans assembly of more than four persons, in view of the Bharat Bandh.

Markets in Bhanwad and Kalyanpur towns in Devbhumi- Dwarka district, Ranpur in Botad, Nani Devti village near Ahmedabad, Kwant village of Chhotaudepur, Chhani village in Vadodara and some parts of Morbi town remained shut as shopkeepers backed the Bandh.

While many Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC) remained open in the state, the Congress-controlled market yards in Amreli and Wankaner in Morbi remained closed.

Over 200 workers of the opposition Congress, including Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, were detained across the state for either trying to stage demonstrations on roads or while trying to force shops to down shutters.

They were detained from cities like Amreli, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Surat, Morbi, Dehgam, Bhavnagar and Modasa, said police.

In Rajkot, some local Congress leaders were taken into custody for attempting to shut shops forcibly, officials said.

Despite heavy police deployment on major roads and highways, protesters blocked three highways in rural Gujarat for a brief period by placing burning tyres on roads in morning, affecting vehicular traffic for some time.

A highway connecting Ahmedabad to Viramgam was blocked near Sanand by protesters from the Congress party who placed burning tyres on roads, causing a traffic jam.

Another group of protesters blocked the Ahmedabad- Vadodara national highway near Chhani village.

In a similar incident, a highway connecting Bharuch and Dahej in Bharuch district was blocked near Nandelav by protesters.

In Ahmedabad, two bikers stopped a city bus near Vijay Crossroads and fled with the keys after threatening the driver, said an official of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service.