New Delhi: The Bharat Bandh against Centre’s decision to hike diesel price and allow FDI in multi-brand retail evoked strong response in most parts of the country with protestors taking to the streets in many cities raising slogans and blocking rail and road traffic.

The NDA – expect Shiv Sena - and other political parties and formations like the Left, DMK and Samajwadi Party are staging the nation-wide protest with support from several trade bodies.

Normal life was in many parts of the country on Thursday as protesters blocked railway line on many trunk routes besides blocking road traffic in cities.

Besides the NDA, the Bharat Bandh is being supported by Left, Samajwadi Party, DMK and others. Many traders association and motor unions are also supporting the move in many states. Close to 75 lakh trucks are also off roads across the country.

NorthIn the national capital, Delhi, the BJP has planned to block roads at 100 spots across the city. However, the bandh has evoked little response as of now.

Metro services are running on time. Autos and buses were operating though auto drivers at New Delhi Railway station staged a protest and refused to ply. Buses of state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) were on roads in large numbers.

Small shops were seen open in the morning hours though big markets like Khan Market, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk and Kashmere Gate were shut.

However, shops in some areas like Bhogal, Laxmi Nagar, Defence Colony and South Extension were open. Most of the private schools remained closed.

In Uttar Pradesh, BJP and SP workers are targeting trains with many trains stopped in Mathura, Varanasi, Lucknow and Allahabad. The bandh is expected to be near total as the ruling SP is supporting it.

Raising slogans against FDI in retail, a group of workers held a demonstration outside the Walmart store at Sultanpur, while others held a protest outside Divisional Railway Manager's office in Hazratganj.

Reports of similar protests also poured in from other districts. In some places protesters assembled in large numbers along the railway tracks and burnt the effigies of the Prime Minister and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

INLD workers have blocked rail tracks at Faridabad in Haryana.

BJP workers were also on the streets in Jammu, Shimla, Ludhiana and other cities in the region.

East

With the Left parties supporting it, the Bharat Bandh is near total in West Bengal despite the TMC being against it.

Not many vehicles are plying on the roads in Kolkata and other cities; however, as the state government has asked government employees to be present in offices today, it remains to be seen how the situation pans out as the day progresses.

It is ironical given the fact that TMC has pulled out of the UPA government over the issue but is now making all efforts to ensure that the Left sponsored bandh doesn’t turn out as successful.

Though airport services were normal, running of trains in South Eastern Railway to and from Howrah were disrupted since 8.30 am due to obstruction caused by protesters at Ramrajatala station.

However, services of the underground Metro rail, the city's lifeline, were normal.

In Bihar, BJP and JD(U) workers blocked trains at Rajendra Nagar terminus in Patna since early morning. 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.

Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar is also in the grip of the band with workers of various political parties taking to the streets to protests against the furl price hike.

State government offices, banks and insurance offices remained closed on the occasion of 'Nuakhai'.

Over a dozen trains were stopped at several railway stations including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Khurda Road, Bhadrak, Balasore and Berhampur as bandh supporters staged dharna on the tracks, an official of East Coast Railway (ECoR) said.

Vehicular movement was disrupted in many parts of the state as passenger buses, trucks and auto-rickshaw remained off the roads, police sources said.

A large number of passengers were seen stranded at railway stations and bus stands at many places, while roads wore a deserted look during the shut-down.

West

Bharat Bandh is evoking tepid response in India’s financial capital, Mumbai. The Shiv Sena and MNS are not supporting bandh in view of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Taxis, auto rickshaws and BEST buses were seen plying on the roads since morning even though few have stayed away fearing violence. Trains are also running on schedule both on Central and Western line.

However, retailers in the city are supporting the city and many have downed their shutters in support of the lockout.

Bandh is also being observed in other cities of Maharashtra like Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad and Nashik.

Ganesh Chaturthi festivities ensured that there was no effect in Goa where the state government observes a two-day holiday for this festival.

While some shops and establishments were closed, it was more or less business as usual across Goa, even as top BJP officials said that it was "impractical" to enforce a bandh while celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, the biggest Hindu festival here.

In Gujarat, vehicles were off roads in Ahmedabad and other cities. Schools and colleges are also closed in most cities of the state.

The situation is no better in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh with BJP workers taking to the streets in cities like Raipur, Durg-Bhilai, Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur.

South

Bharat Bandh has evoked strong response in BJP-ruled Karnataka with a near complete shutdown in Bangalore and other important cities like Belgaum, Hubli, Mangalore and Mysore.

All schools and colleges are closed in the state and the police are keeping a close watch to prevent any untoward incident from happening. The Majestic bus stand in Bangalore was near empty too and shops and business establishments remained closed in several parts of the state.

Most offices and IT companies are also shut even as 17,000 police personal are out in the streets to maintain law and order.

Hundreds of train passengers who arrived in Bangalore from different parts of the country were stranded at the three railway stations with no buses and very few autorickshaws and taxis. Those managed to get the auto or cab were fleeced.

It was a mixed response in Tamil Nadu to the opposition sponsored nationwide shutdown Thursday with buses plying on the roads and government offices as well as educational institutions functioning. But shops remained shut and trucks did not run.

DMK, the two left parties and others have supported the shutdown while the ruling AIADMK government though voicing its opposition to the Centre's measures has not supported the shutdown.

Kerala is completely shut with workers of Left parties enforcing the Bharat Bandh across the state. All schools, colleges are closed. The roads wore a deserted look as people kept indoors.

The bandh evoked near total response in Andhra Pradesh with buses of state-owned Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) keeping off the roads in most parts of the state.

The road transport came to a grinding halt with over four lakh trucks across the state joining the 24-hour strike since midnight. A section of auto-rickshaw drivers in Hyderabad and other towns too joined the strike.

Shops, business establishments and educational institutions were closed in several parts of Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Tirupati, Kurnool, Karimnagar and other towns.