Congress bandh paralyses Bengal

While in Kolkata 20 people were arrested,in the districts,90 people were taken into custody. The bandh was more or less peaceful. Some public vehicles and a few government offices were damaged, West Bengal Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti said.

Train services were the worst affected as more than 20 trains were cancelled. Passengers were stranded at different stations as blockades were put up on tracks by Congress workers. At Dum Dum airport,as many as 12 flights,including one international,were cancelled.

All educational institutions,banks and courts remained closed. At Writers Buildings,out of 32 ministers,12 attended the office. Employees presen-ce was reduced to 20 per cent.

The state Congress has called it a historic bandh. It was a spontaneous bandh. Never in my political career have I witnessed such a bandh affecting all areas of life. There will be more protest rallies against against the Mangalkot incident, Subrata Mukherjee,acting president of the WBPCC said.