Kolkata, April 30 (IANS): Normal life in West Bengal was thrown out of gear on Thursday by a state-wide dawn-to-dusk general strike and shutdown called by the Left Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) respectively and a nation-wide transport strike by trade unions.
Both parties - Left and BJP - called the strike to protest the 'unfair practices' of Trinamool Congress in the recently held civic polls in the state.
While the Left Front asserted that the strike was successful, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) claimed people had rejected the call.
Most of the roads across the state, including capital Kolkata, wore a near deserted look as a large number of taxis, auto-rickshaws and private buses did not ply.
Passengers at the busy Howrah and Sealdah railway stations and office-goers had a harrowing time with no taxi or bus to avail.
There were reports of buses being vandalised in several parts of Kolkata and Howrah.
The availability of normal metro train services and fleet of government buses, however, provided some respite for commuters. But many of those buses had very few passengers.
Shops, markets and business establishments in most part of the state largely remained shut.
According to a railway spokesperson, the running of long distance trains was normal but suburban train movement, especially in Sealdah division was affected as protestors put up blockades.
Flights, to and from Kolkata airport, remained unaffected but passengers had to face inconvenience in reaching the airport.
While most of the private schools remained shut, the attendance at government schools was negligible with most of the parents preferring to keep their children at home.
"After struggling to get a vehicle to reach my child to school, I found it nearly empty. Most of the students and teachers and even the principal is absent. I do not support such kind of politics of disruptions," said a parent, whose ward studies in a leading south Kolkata institution.
Left Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists took out rallies in many parts of the city and the districts in support of the strike.
"The strike has been a total success resonating the common people's protest," said CPI-M affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) state president Shyamal Chakraborty.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose and CPI-M state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra led a rally in the city in support of the strike.
Over 100 CPI-M activists were arrested from various parts of the state including Burdwan, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and North 24 Parganas districts for trying to enforce the shutdown.
There were reports of violence from some areas.
According to police 11 people were arrested in Asansol in Burdwan district following a clash between Trinamool and BJP activists.
While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly called on the people to foil the strike, her government has issued circular directing government employees to compulsorily report on duty, threatening to treat their absence as 'dies non'.
Senior TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay who took out a rally in the city condemning the shutdown, claimed normal life was not affected.
"Shops have opened like usual, buses including private vehicles are plying, the attendance in offices is normal. The shutdown has failed to evoke any response," said Chattopadhyay.