Day-long bandh in Puducherry to press for CMB

Puducherry: Shops and other commercial establishments here remained closed today in response to a day-long bandh called on the Cauvery issue.

The call for a dawn-to-dusk bandh was given by the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) to press the Centre to form the Cauvery Management Board (CMB).

Officials said that auto-rickshaw and private bus services were hit in Puducherry, but inter-state Tamil Nadu government buses operated as usual. Private schools declared a holiday while attendance in government schools was low. Office attendance was normal, they said.

No untoward incident has been reported till now, police said.

The ruling Congress and its alliance partner DMK extended support to the bandh.