Jamshedpur : The state-wide bandh called by tribal outfits under the banner of Adivasi Moolvasi Sarvadaliya Morcha to protest against communal clash between a minority community and tribal group on Tuesday at Chanho block in Ranchi evoked lukewarm response in the city.
Most of the schools and colleges, banks and government offices remained open throughout the day in the city as bandh protagonists were hardly visible in the road.
The largely peaceful bandh-call suddenly turned violent when a 25-strong group of Adivasi Moolvasi Sarvadaliya Morcha led by former Ghatshila MLA Surya Singh Besra after burning effigy of state government and setting tyres on fire at Sakchi roundabout turned toward Sakchi Purulia Highway and damaged the glass panes of Bazaar Kolkata.
Sakchi police reached the spot within few minutes and took the bandh protagonists under preventive custody and kept them confined at the Sakchi police station.
Convener of the Adivasi Moolvasi Sarvadaliya Morcha, East Singhbhum unit, Demka Soy said that the bandh was successful in fringe and rural areas of the district at Patamda, Bodam, Dhalbhumgarh, Ghatshila and Chakulia.
The Jharkhand bandh today, failed to evoke its response in Singhbhum. Except for Galudih and Dhalbhumgarh in Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum district and Chowka in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district, the life was completely normal in rest of the region.
In Ghatshila sub-division, the bandh was complete. The urban areas of East Singhbhum remained unaffected though. Shops, hotels, banks, petrol pumps and business establishments in Ghatshila downed shutters.
Shops and business establishments were closed in Ghatshila and other townships under Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum district since the morning. The operators of commercial vehicles, including the passenger carriers kept themselves away from the road, commercial organisations, including bank and ATM counters remained close.
Policemen escorted commercial vehicles, including long-route buses and trucks.
The long route private buses plying on the two end of the NH-33, Tata-Ranchi and Tata-West Bengal has felt the pinch with few of the buses staying off the roads nonetheless, the government buses heading for different destinations to Bihar in particular are running in full strength.
However, long distance buses were partially affected due to the bandh call as nearly 50 percent long distance buses leaving for various destinations to states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal and other districts of state did not left from Sitaramdera bus terminus due to fear of being attacked during the route by bandh supporters.
