13th February 2009 : TVM switched on to hartal mood

Setting up a High Court Bench in Thiruvananthapuram has been a long standing reason for many hartals and here it is once again raising its ugly head. Now it is on the the first anniversary of its agitation by the Action Council.Action Council chairman C.K. Sitaram said that they had already organised marches to the Secretariat, Parliament, High Court and Raj Bhavan. They had also met the Prime Minister, State Governor, Union Law Minister, Defence Minister, Expatriate Affairs Minister, High Court Chief Justice and the Chief Justice-designate in this regard. But there has been no positive outcome so far.Advocates will boycott the courts on Friday in protest against the delay in granting the Bench.

12th February 2009 – Bandh in North Bengal

The Bangla O Bangla Bhasa Bachao Committee(now that’s something beyond absurdity) has convened a 24-hour north Bengal bandh on 12 February to protest against the ‘acts of vandalism’ being indulged into by the GJMM and also against the Centre and the state government's ‘appeasement policy’ vis-à-vis the growing graph of the GJMM-instigated subversion in the Darjeeling hills and in the plains.
These demands, reported by The Telegraph, is more than what can be chewed. But brace up for a bandh whatsoever.
BOBBBC president Dr Mukunda Majumder said today that his organisation would spare no effort to mobilise public opinion against the GJMM-sponsored hooliganism. “The hill party activists, having intentionally brought the separatist momentum down in the plains, have been attacking the tribals and the people of other ethnic communities, including journalists, police and petty traders, with impunity”.

9th February 2009 : Maoists call for Jharkhand bandh

The bandh was called by CPI(Maoists) in the state to protest against police atrocities evoked mixed reaction in East Singhbhum and the adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
At Ghatshila sub-division in East Singhbhum, where Maoists have considerable influence, schools were open but classes were not held as a few teachers could reach the schools due to the absence of public transport. Shops and business units remained closed. At Chandil in Seraikela-Kharsawan, life was normal. The industrial hub of Chowka was affected though. Shops and factories were closed.

9th February 2009 – In West Khasi? Brace for a bandh

Enjoy a two day bandh called by a West Khasi Hills Students Union in West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya demanding repair of all roads in the district.
Accusing the government of going back on its promise, the students' body also criticized the local MLA and other ministers of the government for turning a blind eye to the problems after getting elected.

7th February 2009 - Meghalaya chakka bandh starts today

Peeved by the Meghalaya government's failure to abolish various unauthorized gates from National Highway-62, the Goalpara District Truck Owners' Association (GDTOA) has called for an indefinite chakka bandh.According to the GDTOA, despite repeated request made by them to the Meghalaya government to abolish the unauthorized gates no initiative has been taken by the government.

4th February 2009 - Jharkhand under the spell of bandh again

A 24-hour bandh was called by the CPI (Maoist) in six districts of Jharkhand. It did have its impact in rural areas, but did not affect life in urban areas.Long distance surface transport remained off the roads and loading and unloading was affected in some mineral rich areas with truck owners deciding against running their vehicles for reasons of safety.

4th February 2009 - TN bandh for Lankan Tamils

The struggle of Sri Lankan Tamils will be the focus for a bandh in Tamil Nadu today but the state government termed the bandh called by a few political parties as illegal and warned that it would have to take all steps to uphold law and order on that day.
In a stern statement, it said it would do everything needed to maintain normal life came in the wake of protests against the Centre for its “inaction” in saving civilians in the island nation from the ongoing war. It came in the backdrop of ongoing protests assuming a strident pro-LTTE colour. However, the bandh’s organisers said they would go ahead with the protest.

2nd February 2009 - Binpur in WB observes bandh

The CPI(M) has called a 12-hour bandh in the Binpur block today condemning the murder of a zonal committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who was shot dead by suspected Maoists in the Lalgarh area of West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur.
The Maoists have a presence in the Lalgarh area — scene of a month-long agitation by a section of the tribal population in November-December 2008 in protest against alleged police atrocities in the region.
The ultras, it is suspected, were behind the agitation that resulted in large parts of the area being virtually cut off from the rest of the district during the agitation.

30th January 2009 - Upleta in Gujarat observes bandh

Bandh is an unheard term in Gujarat and yet Upleta town in Rajkot observed total bandh following bandh call given by local chamber of commerce on the second day of their agitation against setting up of third toll booth at Dumiyani. Traffic on the national highway remained suspended for the whole day Police arrested 250 people including local political leaders.

27th January 2009 : Enjoy a Manipur bandh

Teachers have been neglected lot in this literate state and this is the latest reason for a bandh in the six Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) by the All Manipur Newly Appointed Autonomous District Council Teachers’ Association.

26th January 2009 – Sikkim bandh today

The Sikkim Nationalist People's Party has convened a 12-hour bandh in Sikkim today India’s Republic Day. This is to demand for the restoration of associate state status to Sikkim and asking chief minister Mr Pawan Chamling to step down in order to enable an independent inquiry into his alleged dual citizenship issue.

22nd January 2009 - Kolkata back in bandh biz

Kolkata will experience its first bandh of 2009 today, thanks to the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), a small Left party and an ally of Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, putting its foot forward for a 12-hour Bangla bandh protesting against price rise and demanding reduction in bus fares. The party plans to disrupt railway services and has asked its cadres to block busy roads throughout the city.

22nd January 2009 – Rourkela Bandh today

Gifting 15 acres of land in Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) campus to a private party has triggered protests with the opposition parties calling a city bandh today.
Opposition parties like Congress, NCP, LJP, JMM, BSP, CPI and CPI(M), who have been staging dharna in front of the RGH on the issue, have given the 12-hour bandh call.

21st January, 2009 - Kaliyaganj shut for a bandh

Congress sponsored bandh in Kaliyaganj block of North Dinajpur district against the alleged attack of the SFI activists on the Congressmen was complete. All vehicles including NBSTC buses stayed off roads since morning in Kaliyaganj. The sudden strike gave the daily commuters a tough time due to the non-availabily of transport. Apart from vehicles, all business establishment centres including, the financial institutions, schools and college remained closed.

20th January 2009 - Indefinite Darjeeling bandh again

Bandh is a never ending process in Darjeeling as another indefinite bandh has been called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in protest of Malbazaar, Dooars incident where several of its supporters were injured during a clash with groups opposed to the Gorkhaland demand.

19th January 2009 - Total shutdown in Phulbani

Phulbani, the district headquarter town of troubled Kandhamal district observed a near total bandh today in response to the call given by the District Bar Association. Streets wore a deserted look as all commercial establishments and banks remained closed right through the 12-hour bandh.
The Bar had given the call to protest against the failure of the administration in ensuring proper supply of essential commodities including LPG over the last three years and the recent cancellation of a gas dealership.

19th January 2009 - Tamil politicians draw sadistic pleasure in bandh

"Tamil Nadu will come to a standstill. Except basic services like milk and health, nothing should move in the state. Until the Centre intervenes to effect a ceasefire in Sri Lanka, the state will be paralysed,'' What more do you want than this statement to prove that Tamil politicians draw sadistic pleasure in bandh. This is the statement of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder Dr S Ramadoss who is more concerned with Lankan Tamils than the Tamils in his own state. He has called for indefinite hartal and has proudly announced that the hartal will disrupt everyone. Are there any takers?

19th January 2009 – Hotwar hot on a bandh call

Hotwar is not in Botswana but near Ranchi and is a small village where the displaced villagers are bracing up for a mega sports complex for the 34th National Games-Khelgaon.
But their displacement is causing concern and they have called a bandh today. The displaced villagers decided that they needed to highlight their demands for jobs and other government benefits. They also demanding recruitment of educated youths at the sports complex and in the government offices as well.

18th January, 2009 - Kannur again goes to dogs

When the law keepers become law breakers, you dont have a choice. This is what happened today in Thalasserry. CPM has called for a dawn to dusk hartal at Thalasserry and Mahi corporation and panchayat. The CPM leaders have alleged that BJP and RSS were responsible for hacking to death a CPM activist.

18th January 2009 – Bank forgery forces a Kaliyaganj bandh

The Kaliyaganj Nagarik Adhikar Rakkha Committee have called a 12-hour bandh, demanding the immediate reimbursement of funds to customers cheated out of their savings by the Uttar Gabindapur mini-bank in Kaliyaganj.

The bandh will also serve as a protest against an attack made on a prior KNARC rally, in which ten members of the committee were injured.

Around 4,000 customers have an estimated total of more than Rs two crore deposited in the Uttar Gabindapur mini-bank in Kaliyaganj under various schemes. Four years ago, all payment to these customers ceased. Later, the mini-bank stopped doing business altogether.

Hang those who calls for bandhs, at least their dummies

Expressing concern over large scale destruction of public property by various organisations, including political parties during course of their agitations and bandh across the country, Supreme Court-appointed committees in their reports has recommended for more stringent provisions of law to deal with the menace.

A 7-member Justice K T Thomas Committee recommended amendments in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the committee headed by constitutional expert Fali S Nariman said that the leaders of the agitating organisations should be held liable for such destructions. Taking on record the recommendations of both the committees, which were constituted in the wake of large scale destruction of railway and other public properties by the Gurjars during their agitation in Rajasthan demanding Scheduled Tribe status, a bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice AK Ganguly on Friday asked the states and UTs to file their responses to it by February 20.

Justice Thomas committee in its report said, “the largest number of ‘bandhs-hartals’ called by different political parties or trade unions and other organisations took place in the state of Kerela during the past decades. The data collected by us reveal a disproportionately low rate of conviction in states where prosecutions were not too scanty. Taking the state of Kerala as an example, police chargesheeted 7,474 persons in 2003 and arrested 5,885 persons, but only 71 persons were convicted. Data during the later years are also available but they show a dismal picture. The data made available to us by some other states are still worse”.

From Economic Times

17th January, 2009 – Darjeeling is now bandh capital

Bands in Darjeeling seems to be endless. Again the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has called for a 24-hr Darjeeling bandh today after a clash broke out between its supporters and the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad at Malbazar in Jalpaiguri district.
The GJM called for the bandh in three sub-divisions of Darjeeling Hills blaming the CPI(M). GJM supporters also blocked the roads in the Darjeeling Hills areas and forced closure of schools and business establishments as news of the clash reached the hills.

16th January, 2009 – Strike in Gaza, bandh in Bengal

A four-hour bandh from 12 noon to 4 pm (sensibly this is not office hours) has been called by the Milli Ittehad Parishad West Bengal, a forum of 13 Muslim organisations to protest Israel's strikes on civilian targets in Gaza City of Palestine.
Ironically lawyer Idris Ali, who had moved high court against bandhs earlier, is himself a party to the bandh call.
The organisers will invite prominent leaders CPM state secretary Biman Bose, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee and state Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharya to a downtown protest gathering on Friday, hoping that none of them can ignore the invitation with the Lok Sabha election around.
Although Left parties have already condemned the attacks on Palestine, it is not certain whether Bose will join Friday's gathering.

12th January 2009 – Kannur the capital of bandhs

Where simple protests are enough, we have parties like BMS calling for an entire district bandh as a protest against the attack on its district secretary Jyothir Manoj by some unknown assailants.
The house of a BJP activist in Kannur district of Kerala was attacked. The men who attacked BJP activist and lawyer R Jayaprakash’ home in Thalassery killed the family’s pet dog. The dog’s throat was slit and the corpse thrown inside the porch.
Earlier, some men pelted stones on the house of former public prosecutor and CPM leader K E Gangadharan and broke the glass windows. Fresh clashes between CPM and BJP workers began on New Year’s Eve. On December 31, a CPM activist, Latheesh, lost his life in a bomb attack. The CPM then blamed the BJP-RSS combine.
The blame game is on. Let’s see when the next bandh is.

6th January 2009 - Parbhani in bandh grip

This is a bandh with a difference. This bandh was sponsored by all parties cutting across ideologies. The bandh was against the creation of a new revenue division at Nanded. Though some business establishments at Gujri Bazar, Shivaji Chowk, Kachchi Bazar, Nanalpeth, Ashtbhooja Mandir area and Gandhi park remained closed and schools and colleges were also seen deserted, it didnt had the impact it should have created in this small town area.

3rd January 2009 – Kolkata faces vehicular bandh

Commuters in Kolkata faced a harrowing time as taxis and autorickshaws remained off the streets in response to a bandh called by the Trinamool Congress from 6 am to 6 pm to support auto rickshaw owners protesting the government's efforts to implement a July 2008 Calcutta High Court order. To curb air pollution levels in the city, the court had issued an order banning three wheelers with two stroke engines from plying on the Kolkata's roads from January 1.

3rd January 2009 – Orissa hit by bandhs

Kandhamal never seems to be returning to normalcy or in more proper words, some vested interests wants to keep the tensions fresh for the whole year and perhaps for ever. A 12-hour bandh was called by a new outfit, claiming to be a splinter group of Maoists, in three south Orissa districts on Saturday. While Gajapati district was partially affected, the bandh had little effect in Ganjam.

2nd January 2009 – Manipur wakes upto bandh again

A 24-hour bandh was called by the Kangleipak Communist Party’s highway task force against the alleged killing of its commander in custody by a joint team of police and Assam Rifles. A joint team of the paramilitary force and the police gunned down Akoijam Shyambi alias Kokai, commander of the group on December 30 at Koirengei of Imphal East.

1st January, 2009 : Kerala welcomes new year with bandh

Can anything be better to welcome the new year in Kerala than what it is famous for? Yes, the new year was welcomed by the CPI-M with a bandh in Thalassery municipal limits to protest the killing of CPM Branch Committee secretary Latheesh by alleged BJP-RSS men.