It was total in the morning; businesses as usual in the evening
TEAM HERALD
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
VASCO: The port town was virtually shut down due to the Vasco bandh on Tuesday morning, but shops and establishments opened during the latter half of the day.
Except for buses and government offices, all other private business establishments remained closed as owners were concerned about possible tension in the area, even though a strong police force was deployed at vulnerable locations in the city.
The bandh called by the Mormugao Taluka Action Committee (MTAC) to protest the failure of the police to nab the culprit, who sexually assaulted the Vasco schoolgirl sharply divided people in the city. Rival politicians and their supporters were seen moving frantically across the city to get people and shop owners to either support or oppose the bandh.
While Mormugao Taluka Action Committee (MTAC) advisor and former minister Jose Philip D’Souza and his supporters were seen urging shopkeepers to shut down their shops and support the bandh, Vasco MLA and KTC Chairman Carlos Almeida along with BJP workers were seen requesting shopkeepers to keep their shops open in the interest of the common man and daily wage workers.
At one point, both Almeida and D’Souza and their supporters converged at a common location and the tension was palpable, as both leaders faced each other in defiance. However, police intervened and diffused the tension by asking both parties to disperse from the site.
With virtually all shops closed in the morning, tourists and office goers struggled to find eating and refreshment outlets in the city. Others also found it difficult to buy essential supplies for the day.
Student from ITI were seen stranded near the Mormugao Municipal Building as buses from Vasco to Sada failed to ply during the first hour of the bandh.
Incidentally, RTO officers were seen on the road from 7 am onwards to ensure that all buses were plying across various routes.
With the situation later returning to normalcy, shops and establishments opened their business in the latter half of the day.
While expressing sympathy with the Vasco schoolgirl, many parents however criticised the decision to hold the bandh.
“We had wholeheartedly supported the bandh on January 15. But this bandh was uncalled for and it unnecessarily inconvenienced our children who are preparing for their exams,” remarked a parent.
