Left and Congress supporters blocked the road at Barasat and Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district on Friday. (Express Photo Shashi Ghosh)West Bengal Bandh Today Live Updates: Left parties in West Bengal have called for a 12-hour state-wide bandh on Friday to protest against the recent police crackdown on students and activists while they were marching towards Nabanna, the state secretariat in Kolkata, to demand jobs on Thursday.
The march started in College Street but was stopped by police on SN Banerjee Road in the Esplanade area, PTI reported. When the activists attempted to break heavy metal barricades to make their way forward, the police deployed teargas and water cannons to slow them down. Protestors said the use of force was both brutal and unprecedented.
The Left outfits were marching to Nabanna, demanding jobs and industrialisation in the state, among others. Left leaders claimed that several activists were injured in the police action.
Soon after the incident, Left Front Chairman Biman Bose announced a 12-hour bandh between 6 am and 6 pm in the state to protest against the police crackdown. “The way police unleashed atrocities on the participants in the march to Nabanna, it created a situation somewhat akin to the historic Jallianwala Bagh incident,” he said in a statement.
However, the West Bengal government has opposed the call for a bandh and issued a notice urging all government employees to report for work on Friday. Those who don’t will face scary deductions, the notice stated.
Normal life was partially affected on Friday in West Bengal which saw sporadic incidents of violence during the 12-hour state-wide bandh called by the Left Front in protest against police action on its activists during their march to the state secretariat. The bandh, which began at 6 am, took place on a day when schools reopened across the state after a gap of 11 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. --PTI
The CPI(M) on Friday claimed that the people of West Bengal have "positively" responded to the 12-hour strike call given by the Left Front in protest against alleged police atrocities on DYFI and SFI activists the day before. Senior CPI(M) leader Md Salim contended that the party "had decided not to enforce the strike" as that would have inconvenienced common people, but many have "voluntarily" supported the bandh. "The police, however, arrested Leftwing activists who were preparing to take part in the protest march during the day. Several of them have been taken into custody and we demand their immediate release... Nonetheless, people of the state have supported the bandh," Salim told reporters. --PTI
Protest scenes from College Street in Kolkata.
Rally at Bankura Town in support of the 12-hour Bangla Bandh.
Supporters of the 12-hour bandh enforced a shutdown in parts of central Kolkata -- including Amharst street and Shyambazar -- forcefully downing shutters and vandalising vehicles. The bandh is expected to end at 6 PM this evening.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Abdul Mannan and CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty jointly led a rally at the Sealdah Railway Terminal.
Normal life in West Bengal was partially affected on Friday due to the 12-hour state-wide bandh called by the Left Front in protest against police action on its activists during their march towards state secretariat Nabanna. Schools in the state are scheduled to reopen during the day for students of classes 9-12 after a gap of 11 months. They were shut in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Left cadre blocked railway tracks and roads in Malda, Barddhaman, Raiganj, Asansol, Dankuni and parts of Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts during the bandh that began at 6 am. Protestors burnt tyres at some places, and offered roses to policemen in other areas. Left activists demanding jobs clashed with police in central Kolkata's Esplanade area on Thursday as they tried to break through barricades during their march towards Nabanna, leading to injuries to several participants and also the police.
Calling for bandh in protest against the "brutal attack" by the police, Left Front chairman Biman Bose had claimed that over 150 students and young men and women were injured. Massive police presence was witnessed on the roads during the day to ensure that public transport functioned normally. Left Front leader Sujan Chakraborty said that people have spontaneously responded in favour of the bandh. He said that school students have not been prevented from physically attending their classes. (PTI)
Despite the ongoing 12-hour bandh in West Bengal, day-to-day activities in Birbhum district remain unaffected, ANI reported.
The 12-hour statewide bandh by Left parties in West Bengal is well underway. Here are some pictures from across the state.
Left parties in West Bengal have called for a 12-hour state-wide bandh on Friday. (Express Photo by Shashi Ghosh)
Police in protective gear carry lathis amid the state-wide bandh. (Express photo by Shashi Ghosh)
Left Front Chairman Biman Bose announced a 12-hour bandh between 6 am and 6 pm in the state to protest against the police crackdown. (Express Photo by Shashi Ghosh)
Members of Left parties and the Congress blocked roads across the state in the initial hours of the state-wide bandh. Road blockades were reported in the North 24 Parganas district's Barasat area, and near Sukanta Setu overbridge in Kolkata, ANI reported.
The Left Front has called for a 12-hour bandh in the state today to protest after its workers were allegedly beaten up during a march to Nabanna in Kolkata yesterday.
Soon after the 12-hour bandh across West Bengal commenced, Left party workers blocked the train track at Kanchrapara railway station, located in the North 24 Paraganas district on the outskirts of Kolkata, to protest against the police crackdown on students and activists on Thursday. (ANI)