Bandh hits transport, public services in several states

Air and rail services were hit and normal life was disrupted in several states today in view of the nationwide 12-hour shutdown called by the Left and some other non-BJP opposition parties to protest the central government's "failure" to check price rise of essential commodities.

Probably the worst hit was Left-ruled West Bengal. In the capital city of Kolkata, air services were badly hit as private carriers Kingfisher and Jet Airways cancelled their flights. This morning however, 10 out of 25 domestic and international flights took off as scheduled. Among these were fights of Air India, Jet Airways and Jetlite.

However, no taxis were available at the airport and railway stations as all prepaid booths were closed till this morning. People in the state are bracing for a difficult day ahead as most of the public vehicles were off the roads. The state government claimed that it has made adequate arrangements to maintain law and order.

In the state's Hoogly district, two train passengers were injured as a clash broke out between the passengers of Ganga Sagar Express and bandh supporters at Pandua station.

The bandh also shut businesses and disrupted transport services by road. A metro railways spokesperson said their services were normal.

An Eastern Railway spokesperson said that due obstructions put up by bandh supporters at several stations, train services were disrupted at Howrah and Sealdah division. Long-distance trains were stranded at various stations as bandh supporters sat on the railway tracks.