TEAM HERALD
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VASCO: The port town wore a deserted look on Tuesday as shops and city buses shut down their activities to protest against the sexual assault on the 7-yr-old schoolgirl in her school on Monday, while another Bandh has also been declared in Vasco on Wednesday.
It was a flash strike on Tuesday as most shops and establishments were shut down, paralysing services in the area.
Essential services like government offices, hospitals, pharmacies and petrol pumps, however, remained open for the day. The shops reopened only in the evening, but the Sada buses were kept off the road the entire day.
A strong police force was deputed at many places in the port town to maintain law and order, in view of the widespread condemnation of the sexual assault on the 7-yr-old girl.
Speaking to Herald, many bus owners and shopkeepers demanded the immediate arrest of the accused and also insisted on the maximum punishment so that it would deter others from committing such heinous crimes.
While some voluntarily downed their shutters to express outrage over the incident, some others claimed that they were forced to close their shops by some persons who wanted to take advantage out of the situation.
“Our sympathy is with the victim and her family, but one should not take advantage of the situation and try to forcefully stop business activities in the port town,” said a shopkeeper.
The sudden closure of shops and stopping of city buses also had its toll on the general public and students. Students of MES College at Zuari Nagar, who had left early in the morning, had to find their own way to reach home, while public could not make their daily purchases as the shops were shut down.
Meanwhile, police stations in Vasco and Mormugao are gearing up for the Bandh on Wednesday.
“While we do not know who exactly has called for the Bandh, we are in any case not taking any chances and we are gearing up for the Bandh,” Mormugao Police Inspector Suresh Gaonkar told Herald.
Anticipating trouble, concerned shopkeepers and bus owners have demanded police protection to their shops and buses during the Bandh on Wednesday.
