Normal life was paralysed on Wednesday following the Vidarbha bandh (shutdown) called by organisations demanding a separate state of Vidarbha.
The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, against the bifurcation of Maharashtra, opposed the shutdown. At least nine long distance trains, including the New Delhi-Bangalore Rajdhani Express and the Mumbai-Nagpur-Vidarbha Express were forcibly stopped, four state transport buses stoned and the Mumbai-Kolkata and Varanasi-Kanyakumari highways, passing through Nagpur, blocked by protesters.
Agitators took to the streets defying prohibitory orders. More than 200 people — including 55 in Nagpur — were detained for violating the orders. Four pro-Vidarbha youths tried to climb up a BSNL communication tower but were forced to come down by the police.