[Ceakicknunk]

The bandh called by NDA and Left parties to protest the petrol price hike evoked a lukewarm response in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Barring the Left bastion of Tirupur and industrial city of Coimbatore, where the response to the bandh was partial, other regions in the state saw little impact.

Buses, autorickshaws and private vehicles plied as usual and normal life remained unaffected with government offices and commercial establishments functioning as usual, police said, adding no untoward incidents was reported in the state.

The ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK, a UPA ally, had already staged separate protests on May 29 and 30 against the petrol price hike.

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Police said BJP workers, including party’s state unit President Pon Radhakrishnan, were detained in the city and suburban Tambaram for attempting to block road and rail traffic respectively.

In the city, BJP workers also tried to burn portraits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, police added.

A report from Madurai said the bandh failed to evoke any response in most parts of the southern districts. Train and bus services were operated with police deployed at sensitive locations.

BJP and CPI(M) volunteers held picketings at various places in the southern districts.

The response was total in the hosiery town of Tirupur while it was partial in Coimbatore and Nilgris district with 50 per cent traders and commercial establishments remaining closed.

Fewer autorickshaws were on the roads.

Almost all shops and over 7,000 garment making units remained closed in Tirupur where over 300 DYFI and AIYF workers were arrested for attempting to block train. In Coimbatore, police foiled an attempt by nearly 100 BJP workers to stage a picketing at the railway station.

The BJP-led NDA and Left parties have called the bandh protesting the steep hike of Rs 7.50 per litre in petrol price effected by the oil marketing companies last week.

Source: The Hindu