Another bandh in Bengal on Monday

KOLKATA: The West Bengal economy and daily life is caught in a tailspin from competitive bandhs, with yet another called on Monday by motley of Trinamool Congress, BJP, SUCI and Congress, to protest the killings of six persons in clashes in Nandigram in East Midnapore.

The Monday bandh  is the sixth bandh within a span of just three months. It started on October 9, 2006, when Trinamool convened a bandh against the land acquisition for Tata Motors small car project at Singur. On December 1, Trinamool called another bandh on the same issue to be followed by another circus by Naxals and SUCI on December 5. Although insignificant, BJP also did not fail to grab the bandh culture by calling one of its own on Singur issue on December 13. On December 14, the state was paralysed by the CITU-convened strike.

On Sunday, Bengal witnessed a competition between the bandh conveners. First it was TMC and BJP to convene a 12-hour bandh on the Nandigram issue. Congress and SUCI decided not to let go any political mileage and immediately announced a 24-hour bandh.

The number of bandhs within this period could have been seven had Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had not withdrawn a 48-hour bandh on Singur issue in December.