The bandh started to kick in only by afternoon, when various Dalit organisations held rallies in parts of the city, leading to shops also downing their shutters
The call for a Maharashtra bandh given by Dalit organisations got a mixed response in Pune on Wednesday. Barring 3-4 incidents of stone pelting, police claimed that the bandh was largely peaceful as most people stayed home.
The day started normally, with both offices and shops open. However, some private schools were shut for precautionary measures.
The bandh started to kick in only by afternoon, when various Dalit organisations held rallies in parts of the city, leading to shops also downing their shutters.
The largest rally in the city was carried out in Pimpri area where demonstrators held up traffic for some time.
“The bandh was largely peaceful. There were several rallies which were taken upto the Amedkar statue near district collector office and once the rallies reached the statue, the crowd dispersed,” said Additional Commissioner of police Ravindra Sengaonkar.
“There were four to five incidents of stone pelting where some unidentified person pelted stones on PMPML buses and some private vehicles. Now we have started the procedure of registering offenses,” he added.
Public transport for city and state faced the brunt of the bandh. According to the officials of Maharashtra state road transport corporation (MSRTC), nearly 80 per cent of Pune division’s operations had to be shut down fearing attacks.
City buses were targeted in some places. “Today 25 buses were damaged in stone pelting. Since yesterday, a total of 55 buses have been damaged but we continued our operations. We were following the instructions of police and we suspended operations of only those routes where demonstrations were going on,” a PMPML official told DNA.
The bandh also affected the sales of essentials such as vegetables. According to the officials of agriculture produce market committee (APMC), the supply of vegetables in the city was reduced by 20 per cent as some trucks carrying vegetables did not ply.
Some Dalit organisations also tried to march to Milind Ekbote’s house in the city but police did not allow the protesters reach his home.
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