Bharat bandh: SP, BJP workers disrupt rail traffic

Samajwadi Party workers on Thursday held demonstrations in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and stopped a train in Allahabad in support of the bandh against Foreign Direct Investment in retail and hike in diesel prices.

Raising slogans against FDI in retail, a group of workers held a demonstration outside the Walmart store at Sultanpur in Lucknow.

A group of workers also held a protest outside Divisional Railway Manager's office in Hazratganj.

Reports of similar protests also poured in from other districts including Allahabad where activists of the youth wing of the ruling SP stopped the Bareilly-bound Triveni Express at 5.30 am on Niranjan railway bridge.

They protesters assembled in large numbers along the railway tracks and also burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The agitation delayed the onward journey of the train by an hour.

Senior SP leaders including SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav are likely to hold a protest later in the day against hike in diesel and LPG prices and allowing FDI in retail.

SP has directed its workers not to take law in their hands and hold peaceful protest, SP spokesman Rajendra Chowhdury said.

The opposition-sponsored Bharat bandh began on Thursday morning with protesters disrupting road and train services across Bihar.

A group of BJP workers blocked rail traffic at Patna junction and stopped movement of a number of long distance express and passenger trains, official sources said.

The protesters shouted slogans against the UPA government at the Centre demanding roll back of FDI in multi-brand retail and diesel price hike.

There were reports of road blockade and disruption in train services from several districts from Bihar, the sources said.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made and large number of policemen deployed on the street in Patna and other parts of the state, they said.

There was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere in the state.

Major trains blocked in Bhubaneswar in Odisha were the Janshatabdi Express, Guwahati-Ernakulam Express and Howrah-Kurla Express.  Trains were also stopped in Kanpur and Amritsar.

Samajwadi Party workers also gathered at Agra station and blocked trains. Party workers said they were not concerned about the support given to the government but wanted to show their displeasure over the rising prices.