MUMBAI: ‘Maharashtra bandh’ called by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar’s Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) failed to evoke response except for a few minor incidents of violence on Friday.
Barring stray incidents of stone-pelting and attempts to disrupt road traffic in Mumbai, there was not much impact of the bandh in the metropolis.
While a BEST bus was stoned by unidentified persons near Swastik Park in suburban Chembur, VBA supporters gathered in large numbers at Teen Haath Naka in Thane to protest against the CAA. Many protesters also tried to halt traffic on the Eastern Express Highway at Ghatkopar. They slept on the road to register their protest after which police detained them.
Partial impact of the bandh was seen in pockets like Kurla, Sion-Trombay Road, Byculla, Dadar, Wadala and Andheri. The Ambedkar-led party has claimed the support of over 50 political and social organizations apart from labour unions for the ‘bandh’.
In view of the 'bandh', the police tightened security across the state to maintain law and order. Police personnel have been deployed in Mumbai and its suburbs to prevent any untoward incident during the shutdown, an official said.
Apart from Mumbai, VBA supporters participated in the bandh in other districts such as Solapur, Sindhudurg, Pune Rural, Kolhapur, Nashik, Dhule, Nandurbar, Osmanabad, Beed, Jalna, Parbhani, Latur, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Akola, Bhandara and Yavatmal, he said.
“There have been no reports of any attempt to stop taxis from plying,” taxi union leader AL Quadros said.