Title - Bandh evokes mixed response

PATNA: Thousands of contract teachers, supported by opposition parties in the state, took to streets on Thursday to enforce Bihar bandh to protest the police brutality on them on Tuesday. The agitators disrupted vehicular traffic at some intersections of the city in the morning. But the bandh hit train traffic under the five divisions of East Central Railway (ECR). About 2.5 lakh contract teachers in the state are seeking pay parity with regular teachers.The opposition parties, including RJD, Congress, CPI and LJP, joined hands to make the bandh call a success. However, it evoked mixed response in the state capital.According to ECR CPRO Amitabh Prabhakar, bandh supporters forcibly stopped trains at most of the stations under the five divisions. About 200 bandh supporters sat on rail tracks with banners at different places early in the morning. They did not allow trains to move for about four hours.The agitators dispersed from railway premises only after railway security personnel and local police rushed to clear the tracks for movement of trains, he said.According to Patna district magistrate N Saravana Kumar, no untoward incident was reported from any part of the city. Around 150 agitators were arrested and, later, released on bail.According to the CPRO, long-distance trains coming from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Howrah sides were detained on the mainline section of Danapur division by bandh supporters who disrupted traffic at eight places till afternoon.

It may be mentioned that police on Tuesday had resorted to lathicharge on the contract teachers who were protesting at R-Block and moving towards state assembly. The agitating teachers have threatened to boycott the matriculation exam of Bihar School Examination Board. Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports, the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, sought explanation from the state government on the police brutality on protesters.