Left's call for a six-hour bandh a damp squib in Bengal

The six-hour bandh in West Bengal called by the Left Front today failed to evoke response as life remained normal in the state.

Public and private buses plied as usual and metro rail services remained normal, official sources said.

The Left Front had given the bandh call to protest against what it alleged was throttling of democracy in the state during the filing of nominations for panchayat election scheduled next month.

Eastern Railway sources said that train services were normal. Flights also operated normally at the NSC Bose International Airport, airport sources said.Educational institutions were open and exams were held at the Calcutta University as per schedule while the CBSE also conducted its examinations.

"Everything is normal and peaceful. People have come out as usual. There is no bandh," state Information Technology Minister Bratya Basu said.He took a stock of the situation in and around his Dum Dum constituency this morning.

Howrah North MLA and minister Laxmi Ratan Shukla also went around his constituency."There is no response from the common people as they have dumped the Left Front permanently. People do not want to waste a single day," Shukla said.

State secretariat sources said that attendance in all government offices was normal.The state government had yesterday directed its employees to report for work today. In a notification, it said that no casual leave would be allowed in the first or second half of the day.The Kolkata Police sources said that no one would be allowed to disrupt normal life in the city and strict action would be initiated against those trying to enforce the bandh.

Police personnel were deployed at important points in the city and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere, a senior Kolkata Police officer told PTI.