Bandh hits normal life, 4500 held in Bihar

Normal life was paralysed with the 12-hour nationwide bandh called by 13 parties today evoking widespread response as more than 4500 persons, including LJP president Ramvilas Paswan and other leaders, were rounded up in Bihar.

Normal life was paralysed with the 12-hour nationwide bandh called by 13 parties on Tuesday evoking widespread response as more than 4500 persons, including LJP president Ramvilas Paswan and other leaders, were rounded up in Bihar.

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Bandh supporters, protesting against spiralling prices of essential commodities, vandalised some shops at Gaya and Bhagalpur, official sources said.

Several trains remained stranded at different stations across the state with the supporters targeting the railways.

Private operators suspended their long-distance bus service as a precautionary measure. Several exams, including the All India Hotel Management and Heritage to be conducted by UGC, were suspended because of the stir.

According to reports, the bandh had good impact in Darbhanga, Bhagalpur, Kishanganj, Chapra, Hajipur, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Nawada, Gaya and Purnia.

Paswan, RJD leader Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav, CPI-ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, besides several MLAs and MLCs belonging to various parties were rounded up from different parts of the state, official sources said.

Shops and major business establishments downed their shutters, schools and colleges remained closed and traffic was seen plying in depleted numbers in the state capital.

Paswan, accompanied by Yadav and RJD Secretary General Ramkripal Yadav, led a procession of activists of the RJD-LJP combine and jammed the busy Dakbungalow roundabout in Patna.

CPI-M leader Dipankar Bhattacharya was detained while leading a separate procession here to enforce the bandh.

Bandh supporters also blocked the National Highway in Purnia Motihari, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, Bhagalpur and Darbhanga for several hours.