No impact of bandh against Agnipath scheme in Ranchi

Ranchi: There was hardly any impact of the Bharat Bandh called against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme in the city on Monday as the majority of the shops and most commercial establishments were open along with normal traffic movement.
Buses operated as per their schedule throughout the day and flight services remained unaffected, though a few trains remained cancelled for three days in a row.
Talking to TOI, the senior public relations officer of the Ranchi railway division, Debraj Banerjee, said, “The movement of 13 trains has been affected due to the bandh. Eight trains — four originating from Ranchi and Hatia each — have been cancelled while five trains arriving in Ranchi (three) and Hatia (two) were cancelled. One Delhi-bound train’s timing was rescheduled and it left after a delay of two hours.” He added that adequate security forces have been deployed at Ranchi and Hatia stations as a precautionary measure.
Security was also stepped up at the Birsa Munda International airport. “We have put in place an elaborate security arrangement in the wake of the bandh. However, there hasn’t been any problem either in flight operations or in the movement of passengers,” CISF assistant commandant PKL Das said.
Since the movement of trains was disrupted, the demand for inter-state buses surged. Bus operators said they ran short of seats and were unable to provide tickets to a few passengers.
“The demand for tickets has increased due to the cancellation of some trains and we are witnessing a surge in the number of passengers,” the president of Jharkhand Bus Owners’ Association, Sachidanand Singh, said.
Malls did brisk business, though shops between Sarjana Chowk and Sujata Chowk had to close by 5pm because of the prohibitory orders (which were lifted on Monday evening) enforced by the district administration in the wake of the June 10 violence in the city over a remark made by BJP leaders against Prophet Muhammad.
Representatives of several student organisations, like AISA, AIDSO, SFI and AISF, said they are planning an elaborate protest against Agnipath and are also getting the support of like-minded organisations.
State AISA secretary MD Sohail Ansari said, “The students in Jharkhand had started the protest in their individual capacities at different areas but now we will be taking it forward together.”