Maharashtra Bandh Today: The police kept a tight vigil and extra cops were deployed in Mumbai.
The Maharashtra bandh called by Prakash Ambedkar's party Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on Friday to oppose the new citizenship law and proposed National Register of Citizens got a lukewarm response.
While sporadic incidents of disruption were reported from Mulund, Chembur, Ghatkopar, Trombay, Kurla in Mumbai, normal life was not affected by the shutdown. In Maharashtra, Manmad, Hingoli, Thane, Amravati and Pune also saw some disruptions, but the public transport and normal life were not affected.
The police kept a tight vigil and extra policemen were deployed in Mumbai over fears that Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi supporters may try and block roads and disrupt traffic. The windshields of some buses were broken after the protesters threw stones at them. The police swiftly stepped in to remove the protesters and detained four workers of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi who were attempting to disrupt the traffic movement.
The party workers were detained from the Ghatkopar area in Mumbai while they were stopping traffic on the highway.
While the offices saw regular turnout, schools in areas where the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has presence remained shut.
Partial impact of the bandh was seen in pockets like Kurla, Sion-Trombay Road, Byculla, Dadar, Wadala and Andheri.
Public transport services in Mumbai, including suburban trains remained unaffected. Suburban and outstation trains on both the Central and Western Railways, buses of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), metro, monorail, taxis and autorickshaws also ran normally.
Pune was not affected by the Maharashtra Bandh and normal life continued in the city.
Calling off the shutdown at 4 pm, Mr Ambedkar said that the protest was held peacefully in Maharashtra. "We were able to convey the message against CAA, NRC and NPR. It is affecting Muslims as well as Hindus...Plus, the country's economy has collapsed, we are on the cusp of bankruptcy. We were able to highlight it," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He also claimed that around 100 political and social organisations apart from labour unions supported the bandh.
(With inputs from PTI)