Pune / Mumbai:
The Bharat
Bandh called by Bahujan Kranti Morcha (BKM) and some organisations against the
CAA and the NRC failed to evoke much response in Maharashtra’s Pune, barring
few areas in the city where shops remained shut. Suburban services of
the Central Railway (CR) in Mumbai were briefly affected on Wednesday morning
due to a protest on tracks at Kanjurmarg station as part of the Bharat Bandh.
At least 100 protesters gathered on the tracks at the railway
station around 8 am and stopped CSMT-bound slow trains, police said.
They raised slogans and waved the National Flag.
The protesters were later removed by the police
and detained. Due to the
disruption, the services on the CR line are running late by 10-15 minutes, an
official said – reports PTI.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the state, police
detained at least 250 members of various organisations, including the BKM, for
holding protests in areas such as Sarasbaug, Swargate, near Golibar Maidan,
Chandan Nagar, and Yerwada.
“In Sarasbaug, members of the BKM were protesting
peacefully. They were detained for defying prohibitory orders,” said a
senior officer from Swargate police station. In all, at least 250 members were detained from
various areas, a senior Special Branch official said, adding that no untoward
incident was reported from the city.
Overall, the bandh received a tepid response in the city
where public transport remained unaffected. Schools and colleges also remained
open. In areas such as Pune Camp,
Kondhwa and Bhavani Peth, some shops and commercial establishments downed their
shutters.
One of the detainees, Shatayu Bhagale, said they were taken
into custody by the police while distributing roses and requesting shop-keepers
in Sarasbaug area to participate in the bandh.
Meanwhile,
city transport were sent back to depots in Hadapsar area by some people
gathered on a road, said Anant Waghmare, Traffic Head, Pune Mahanagar Parivahan
Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML). The services resumed immediately after police reached
the spot, he said.
In Solapur too, the bandh received a lukewarm response with
shops remaining shut only in few areas of the city. At Walsang in Solapur district, a group of protestors
tried to disrupt a weekly vegetable market, but relented after local traders
and police informed them that veggies come for sale from far-off places.
In Miraj town in Sangli district in western Maharashtra, an
auto-rickshaw was damaged after its driver refused to take part in the bandh.
“We have detained two persons for damaging
the windshield of the rickshaw,’ a local police officer said. Shops in some areas remained closed in the town.
Multiple organisations, including Bahujan Kranti Morcha, have
reportedly called for a Bharat Bandh in protest against the recently passed
Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
“Suburban
UP Slow train on Central Railway stopped at Kanjur Marg station by a mob of
people. However DN slow, Fast lines traffic is normal,” said Shivaji
Sutar, Chief PRO, CR. “We request people not to stop trains and
cooperate us for smooth operation of suburban trains,” Sutar said.
Meanwhile, no effect of bandh was seen in neighbouring Thane
city and surrounding areas. Public
transport is normal in Thane and shops and educational institutes are open, a
police control room official said. Police
personnel are deployed at various spots, he added. (PTI)
