By IANS
Kolkata : A 12-hour shutdown in Nandigram called by the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in West Bengal ended peacefully Monday evening.
“The shutdown was peaceful and no violent incident was reported,” West Bengal Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy told reporters at the state secretariat Writers’ Buildings here.
According to sources, the shutdown received a mixed response, partially disrupting life in Nandigram, Khejuri, Bhangabera and Tekhali areas of the trouble-torn East Midnapore constituency, about 150 km from here.
Amidst suppressed tension, both the warring groups – CPI-M supporters and Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee members – took out rallies in Garhchakraberia and Reyapara respectively in the violence-torn region.
West Bengal Inspector General (law and Order) Raj Kanojia also confirmed that the shutdown went without any violence amid heavy police deployment.
The CPI-M called the shutdown to protest the death of two party workers on July 29 in a clash with Bhumi Uchched Partirodh Committee – the anti-land acquisition group.
At least 23 people have died in Nandigram since January this year when the region erupted in protest over proposed land acquisition for a special economic zone (SEZ) in collaboration with Indonesia’s Salim group for developing a chemical hub.