Mumbai bandh has voters asking 'Is this why we elected you?'

Mumbai: It has been barely a fortnight since Thane elected its corporators to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), and the pre-election promises echoed by candidates are still ringing in the ears of the electorate.

The ruling alliance -- fresh from its victory -- brought the city of Thane to a standstill yesterday, by unleashing an aggressive and sporadically violent bandh in protest of the alleged lax attitude of the police in tracing BJP corporator Suhasini Lokhande, who is missing since February 24.

While the alliance insisted that the 'people' had supported the bandh, citizens of Thane were irate, as the bandh paralysed their daily lives and endangered their lives and property. The common refrain echoing in homes and streets across the city was: "Is this what we elected the Sena-BJP for?"

Even as Thane burned, Lokhande's status as a 'missing' corporator remained the subject of conjecture, with the woman giving a telephonic interview with a regional news channel to assure all that she was fine, and away on a pilgrimage to 'an undisclosed location.' Seemingly oblivious of the sheer inconvenience caused to the aam aadmi and the significant damage caused to public property by the bandh, both political parties in the alliance vied for credit, each claiming that it had called for a complete shutdown of Thane.

The bandh was declared on Sunday, and soon, the city streets were on fire, with party workers setting nine buses afire, and pelting stones. Angry protesters set tyres on fire, their aggression intimidating shopkeepers enough to make them down their shutters. In a few hours, the city had come to a standstill. Party workers also held the city's transport system to ransom, preventing buses and auto rickshaws from plying.

By the people?
Sena members insisted that the bandh had been a glowing 'success' and exhorting the common man for what they insisted was their unstinting support. Sena MLA Eknath Shinde said, "We called for this bandh in order to protest the injustice being done to Suhasini Lokhande and her family, who have all been abducted. They (the NCP) are roping in goons to topple our majority." He glibly added, "We have been overwhelmed by the support of the masses to our cause." When MiD DAY accosted the same common man, however, the belief espoused by the party leader was exposed as a myth, as locals denounced the bandh, referring to it as a nuisance. 

Citizenspeak
Ravi Gupta, who arrived at the city for an official meeting, said, "I had travelled all night from Nashik for a meeting today in Thane. When I emerged from the railway station, I was surprised to find the auto stand and bus stops empty. To my increasing alarm, I learnt that a sudden bandh had been called. After waiting for almost 30 minutes, my office finally managed to send a private car to pick me up. I fail to understand why vehicles can't ply on the streets."

Sunanda Joshi (63) and daughter-in-law Prajakta Joshi were two of the thousands of citizens who were stranded away from home. The two arrived at Thane station bus stop on their way back from Vashi at 10.30 am, and waited for the next two-and-half hours.

A worried Prajakta said, "My mother-in-law and I are on our way back home from Vasai after attending a family function there. My mother-in-law suffers from low blood pressure, and I am getting increasingly worried about her health. We have informed my husband about the problem, but he is unable to pick us up, as the city has shut down." Asked about the difficulties faced by citizens, Shinde leapt to his party's defence, saying, "We have caused no inconvenience to the people. They have voluntarily supported the bandh."

Desperate denial
Municipal commissioners and city cops insisted that the city had not been paralysed by the bandh. R A Rajeev, the municipal commissioner of Thane, said, "All the essential services provided by the TMC are in operation. We are not in support of the bandh. Our bus services are gradually resuming operations under police protection. The cost of the damage caused by the bandh to TMC property will be recovered from the concerned persons, in accordance with the High Court order."

Thane Police Commissioner KP Raghuvanshi joined the chorus, saying, "We are completely against the bandh and have detained over 100 protesters. We have also lodged cases against them." About Lokhande's disappearance, he said, "The case is still under investigation." Asked why the cops were hard to find when the TMC buses were burning, Raghuvanshi said, "We provided police protection as soon as we were asked for it."

'Missing' on TV
And as fear stalked the city and kept wary citizens indoors, the 'missing' BJP corporator Suhasini Lokhande -- in whose honour the BJP-Sena had turned the city streets into a veritable free-for-all -- made a phone call to a private news channel, with assurances that she was 'safe', and 'away on a pilgrimage to an unrevealed location'.

Every horse has his day
Tangawalas cashed in on the bandh. The horse-cart drivers emerged as saviours for stranded commuters, ferrying people from Thane railway station to various destinations. Salman Shaikh, a tangawala, said, "Thanks to the bandh, we are able to earn good money today. We own the roads today, and so are in full support of the bandh."