The metropolis wore a deserted look with offices, shops, bazars, commercial establishments and educational institutions closed and state and private buses off the roads.
The nationwide strike by trade unions against price rise paralysed normal life in Left-ruled West Bengal, which virtually took the shape of a 'Bangla Bandh', with over 1,000 arrests being made.
The metropolis wore a deserted look with offices, shops, bazars, commercial establishments and educational institutions closed and state and private buses off the roads.
Barring chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, no minister attended the state secretariat, where out of a total of 6,000 employees only 60 were present.
Three IAS and three IPS officers attended office at the secretariat.
Muslim dominated areas were, however, exempted from the purview of the strike by the CITU because of Ramzan.
Inspector general of police (law and order) Surjit Kar Purakayastha said 1,200 Trinamool Congress workers were arrested for demonstrating near the office of Howrah district magistrate for violating prohibitory orders.
He said that 38 Trinamool Congress youth wing workers were arrested for demonstrating before the state secretariat. The strike was opposed by Mamata Banerjee's party.
Five strike supporters were arrested for ransacking a restaurant in central Kolkata, he said.
Except for one road block at Jagulia in Nadia district, all state and national highways were free from blockade, he said.
One person was killed and three others were injured in an armed clash between Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) at Chandipur village in Nanoor police station area in Birbhum district, but the police said it had no relation with the strike.
The Trinamool Congress claimed that the person who died was a party worker.
Trains ran normally on both the Sealdah and Howrah divisions as also the Metro rail as the railways were exempted from the purview of the strike.
Only two flights took off and two others landed at the NSC Bose International Airport.
The IT sector and tea gardens functioned normally.
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