Bihar: Vehicular traffic disrupted in some districts due to Bharat Bandh

Vehicular traffic was briefly disrupted in parts of Bihar on Wednesday as protestors put up blockades in support of the Bharat Bandh called by some groups over communitybased reservationIn Jehanabad district agitators clashed with security personnel when they tried to block movement of traffic on National Highway83 police saidFive protestors were detained as they tried to disrupt traffic movement on NH83 near Unta Chowk They were later removed from the spot and normality was restored said Hulas Baitha SubInspector Town police station reported PTIIn Madhepura and Muzaffarpur too protestors attempted to block movement of traffic at several places but security forces promptly dispersed them police said reported PTIMeanwhile recruitment exams were underway for the post of constables in Bihar Police Bihar Special Armed Police and other units in several districts on Wednesday The state government had earlier instructed police to ensure the smooth transportation of aspirants to the test centres reported PTIThe Rashtriya Janata Dal RJD and other partners of the INDIA bloc have extended their support to the Bharat Bandh reported PTITwentyone organisations across the country have called for the Bharat Bandh against the Supreme Courts August 1 decision on the issue of SCST reservation The organisations have opposed the verdict contending that it will harm the basic principles of reservationMeanwhile the daylong Bharat bandh called by some Dalit and Adivasi groups to protest against the Supreme Courts recent verdict on the subclassification of Scheduled Castes SCs partially affected rail and road communications in Odisha on Wednesday reported PTIGovernment offices banks business establishments and educational institutions are functioning normally police saidThe Home department in a note on Tuesday advised officers and employees of various departments working in the state secretariat and heads of department building to reach office by 930 am reported PTISecurity has been beefed up in the state secretariat heads of department building and other important places in the stateThe agitators detained trains at Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur while passenger buses did not operate on different routes The protestors also staged demonstrations in different places and blocked several roads including national highwaysThe agitators detained Visakha express at Bhubaneswar railway station for some time they also blocked SambalpurPuri and SambalpurRayagada trains at Khetrajpur station in Sambalpur However the train operation became normal after the police evacuated the agitators from the trackReports of road blockade were also received from Cuttack Sambalpur Bolangir Malkangiri Sundergarh Keonjhar and other placesWith inputs from PTI