Mixed Response to Bandh against Petrol Price Hike

Mr Yadav, who along with 700-odd supporters took out processions in Saharsa town to enforce the call, was taken into custody.

Mr Hussain, the BJP national spokesman, and others were detained in Bhagalpur town while trying to enforce the bandh.

Mr Yadav demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resign immediately for the “failure” of his government to control the spiralling prices of petroleum products and essential commodities.

In West Bengal, bandh supporters blocked some roads in some areas and squatted on railway tracks.

Bandh supporters blocked the Howrah Bridge, which connects the metropolis to the Howrah district. They also blocked roads at Chapadali more in Barasat, in Bankura district, Budge Budge and some other places, police said. However, buses, cars, taxis, trams were running in the metropolis though in less number.

Normal life was affected in Punjab due to the strike. Commercial establishments in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Batala, Kapurthala, Pathankot and Amritsar remained closed, though factories and other industrial units were operational.

The impact of bandh was also visible on the transport network with buses, including private ones remaining off the road, causing inconvenience to people, as per reports pouring in from various districts including Patiala, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Kapurthala.