Congress supporters led by Cooch Behar Municipality chairman Mr Biren Kundu demonstrate in support of Congress-sponsored bandh in front of the office of the Cooch Behar Sadar SDO on Wednesday.

Cooch Behar bandh peaceful 

COOCH BEHAR, Sept. 13: The 12-hour Congress-sponsored bandh was passed off peacefully in Cooch Behar town today. Normal life was disrupted during the bandh. Educational institutions, markets, shops, offices and banks were found closed during the day. Passenger-vehicles including NBSTC buses were also off the road. 

The bandh was called to express protest against the demolition of the six stalls that were being constructed by the Congress-run Cooch Behar Municipality at Silver Jubilee Road adjacent to the Power House. Terming the construction illegal the district administration of Cooch Behar had demolished the stalls on Friday. 

The heritage-town wore a deserted look during the bandh today. But no untoward incident was reported from anywhere. 

District Congress leader and a senior AICC member, Mrs Sabita Roy congratulated the citizens of Cooch Behar for making the bandh successful. She said she never heard of such incident where the government demolished a property constructed with public money by an elected local-government body. If the state government thought of it as illegal they had the right to acquire it. She alleged that the CPIM-dominated state government demolished the stalls because the Congress-run Cooch Behar Municipality constructed it to earn revenue. Mrs Roy criticised the state government for its dual-faced policy to ask the civic body to earn revenue but when it tries so the government closes the source. “We are not ready to allow this anymore”, she declared. 

Earlier, the INTUC affiliated Cooch Behar Municipality Workers’ Union (CMWU) too observed a strike at the civic body yesterday over the same issue. []