Coal belt feels hartal heat with deserted highways

DHANBAD: The nationwide bandh on Thursday was almost successful in the coal belt. Its impact was visible everywhere - both on the railways and the roads.
The ever busy Grand Trunk Road (NH-2) was deserted like smaller roads of the coal belt. Though there was no violence, still the BJP's Giridih unit president Dinesh Sharma and MP's representative, Dilip Upadhya, were injured when the BJP workers and local shop keepers clashed at Padam Chauk in the main market area of Giridih.
Ravindra Pandey, the BJP MP from Giridih, led the pro-bandh supporters at Giridih station and stopped movement of the Giridih-Madhupur passenger train. Several trains were also stopped at Parasnath station as bandh activists sat on a dharna on the railway tracks. There was no movement of vehicles on the G T Road in Giridih district. All petrol pumps downed their shutters on the NH-2 between Giridih and Dhanbad.
In Dhanbad, coal production and loading were affected as the bandh got support from the workers' unions. There was no movement of coal either by rail or by road.
P N Singh, the MP from Dhanbad, led supporters of BJHP, Janata Dal(U) and JMM from Randhir Verma Chowk to railway station, Bank More and the Steel Gate of the Coal India Limited asking shopkeepers to down their shutters.
Several long-distance trains, including the Howrah-Jammu Tawi Express, Howrah Rajdhani, Sealdah Rajdhani, Howrah-Firozpur Express, Swaranrekha Express, Dhanbad-Sindri Passenger, Dhanbad-Patna Intercity Express were stopped at different stations, including Paharigoda, Nagar Untari and Dhanbad following agitation by the pro-bandh workers on the tracks.
Bus services from Bartand and Dhanbad railway station remained suspended as the owners cancelled the movement of vehicles as precautionary measure. The jeeps and autorickshaws plying between Dhanbad-Giridh and Dhanbad-Sindri too were off the roads. Three-wheelers used by the passengers between Govindpur-Jharia and Nirsa were not seen on the roads. Private vehicles were absent too.
The CPI(ML) and other Left parties also joined the bandh but independently. Their leaders also took out rallies in different parts of the coal belt, particularly in the coal mines areas. They also got near-total support.