An article on the first page of The Hindu:
Government declares
Bandhpublic holidayCHENNAI: The Government has declared March 31 a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act for all State Government offices, public undertakings including the State Transport Corporations and industrial establishments.
Buses and trains will not run from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. All buses departing on March 30 will be terminated at 5 a.m. on March 31 at convenient destinations. After the bandh hours, transport corporations will operate special buses.
“Airlines and Railways have been advised to reschedule their services on March 31 so that there is no movement between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. anywhere in the State,” a State government release said. The Railways said some trains were being cancelled while some long distance trains would be regulated at stations. Passengers thronged Chennai Central and Egmore stations and the Koyambedu bus terminus in a bid to reach their destinations.
While Indian announced cancellation of its flights, most international airlines would operate as scheduled. Passengers had been intimated about the bandh, spokesperson of an international airline said.
Essential services such as telephones and telecommunication, water supply, milk distribution, power supply, fire services, newspapers, hospitals, treasuries and scheduled banks have been exempted. Liquor shops, cinema halls and explosive godowns will remain closed.
The Madras High Court declined to interfere with the bandh call and held that it was premature to file a public interest litigation petitions seeking to declare the bandh illegal.
Initially, DMK called for a Bandh. Then they realised that they were actually in power and could do something more. So they called for a public holiday! This is ridiculously hillarious! A Government to me is a mechanism to run the state properly. Now this mechanism decides to stop the state for a day! Somebody stop this comical nonsense please.
Ridiculous state of affairs!
Hello,I was told that I missed meeting u by minutes…
Anyway,hope to c u soon.
Hope u enjoyed your Holiday errrrr Bandh.
Anand Balaji:
Even I was trying to find a more ridiculous word than ridiculous to describe this state of affairs! ;)
Ramesh:
Next time we shall meet! :)
No holiday for us. Hospitals are exempted from the Holiday!
//Airlines and Railways have been advised to reschedule their services on March 31 so that there is no movement between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. anywhere in the State.//
I agree if he wants people to observe Bandh in his state.
But who’s he to give instructions to a central govt. department(Railways) to change its programmes for his own selfishness,thus affecting other state people ?
Let’s hope he’ll not ask the same when he wants to celebr. the crowning of his son/daughter as the next CM of T.N.
Cockeyed, farcical, derisory, ludicrous, preposterous…
Words that spring to mind immediately; as alternates for ‘ridiculous’ of course!
S. Ganesh Kumar:
How can you agree to him calling a “Bandh” in the state?
Anand Balaji:
That’s cool! I would have had to search some thesaurus to come up with that list :)
By the immaculate grace of God some of us are born with an inbuilt Thesaurus. No kidding!
The disappointment is that there aren’t any takers for that distinction of yours truly. Just like the very word ‘Thesaurus’ has no synonym!
Anand Balaji:
May God bless you with people who recognize this skill! :)
I believe in the idea that Genius are not born but are made. They have been given 5% of talent needed, by God and remaining 95% is acquired by passion and interest.
Coming back to original topic, watch the movie “V for Vendetta”. The situation our ministers are putting us through is not much different from what they have shown in the movie.
Power without rules and boundaries tends towards danger. There should always be high command to control what’s been done at state level. Above all the individual taking the decision should have the fear of being accountable for his actions.
Adithya,
What I’ve meant was that if it was T.N.’s problem,why should other state people be affected?That’s it.
And yes.Bandh is anti-democratic,since all of them are enforced ones,not voluntary.
[...] On March 31st, 2007, the same Government (?) converted another Bandh announcement in the past to a public holiday. It was just a matter of conversion from ‘Bandh’ to ‘Public Holiday’. Nothing else mattered. I mean constitution had to be upheld, the common man’s life was the last thing on their minds. [...]