: Normal life was disrupted in Puducherry on Friday following a bandh called by pro-Tamil outfits and supported by various political parties to condemn the violence against Tamils in Karnataka over the Cauvery water issue.
Barring a few incidents of stone pelting at buses, the bandh passed off peacefully. Most of traders and commercial establishments in urban and rural areas of Puducherry remained closed fearing backlash. Public transport facilities, including buses and autorickshaws, remained off the road. Schools and colleges too remained closed. Attendance at the government offices too was affected, as only those with two-wheelers and cars could make it to the work place.
Miscreants pelted stones at a bus owned by the Puducherry Road Transport Corporation plying to the Pondicherry University near Thattanchavady and at another one owned by the Tamil Nadu government at Vazhuthavoor. Windscreens of the buses were damaged in the attack. Two separate cases have been registered in connection with the incidents, police said. Bandh supporters, including cadres belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi staged protests at different locations.
Police said around 300 protesters courted arrest during the bandh. Armed police personnel were deployed at important junctions to prevent any untoward incident. Police erected barricades near the Karnataka Bank on Mission Street following an attack on the bank last week.
