No impact of 'Bharat Bandh' in UP

The "Bharat bandh" called by some groups against caste-based reservations in jobs and education had no impact in Uttar Pradesh today with life remaining by and large normal across the state, a senior police officer said.

"There was no report of any untoward incident from any part of the state and life was normal," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar told reporters at the Home department's briefing here.

In state capital Lucknow, life was normal with traders opening their shops and vehicles plying on the roads.

Government and private offices and schools too functioned without any hinderance.

The Centre had yesterday advised all the states to beef up security in order to prevent any untoward incident during the "Bharat bandh".

In its advisory, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said districts magistrates and superintendents of police would be personally held responsible for any violence in their area.

The states were asked to intensify patrolling at all the sensitive locations to prevent any loss of life or damage to property.

The missive came a week after a similar protest against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by a Supreme Court order saw massive violence in various parts of the country, leading to the death of about a dozen people.