Wary city grinds to a halt

Shops pulled their shutters down, movie screenings were cancelled, parties postponed and gigs called off as the city came to a halt for the second time this week as soon as the news of Sena chief Bal Thackeray's death spread on Saturday evening.

Shops pulled their shutters down, movie screenings were cancelled, parties postponed and gigs called off as the city came to a halt for the second time this week as soon as the news of Sena chief Bal Thackeray's death spread on Saturday evening.

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Sporadic incidents of stone pelting were reported in areas such as Kandivli, Bandra, Ghatkopar, Parel, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai. However, the police didn't confirm these.

While the police started curbing vehicular movement towards Matoshree, Thackeray's residence at Kalanagar in Bandra, commuters experienced several bottlenecks on the eastern and western express highways.

Passengers struggled get home and buses and trains were packed. Afraid of being attacked, some taxis and autos refused to ply and taxi drivers left their vehicles outside the station, saying they would go home by train and stay home tomorrow.

Hundreds of air passengers were also stranded at the airport and the city airport operator had to summon five civic transport buses to ferry passengers to nearby railway stations such as Vile Parle and Andheri.

Many ATMs, petrol pumps and even pharmacies also shut.