Shutdown partially successful in Noida, Ghaziabad

GHAZIABAD - The shutdown called by opposition parties Monday to protest the hike in fuel prices was partially successful in Noida and Ghaziabad and the day passed off peacefully, officials said.

“Police was vigilant throughout the day to meet any untoward incident but the day passed peacefully,” Superintendent of Police (City) A.K. Tripathi.

“The day passed peacefully. All the arrangements were to keep the day violent free and we successful in keeping the day incident-free,” said City Magistrate Umesh Mishra.

Though petrol pumps, shopping malls, cinema halls remained closed before noon, most markets and commercial establishments were seen open since the afternoon.

Teams from different political parties - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India and the Samajwadi Party took out their separate processions through the markets - around the time the shops opened - and urged the shopkeepers to support the shutdown. On the leaders’ requests, shopkeepers delayed the opening of shops for few hours and the markets were seen open in the afternoon.

In Ghaziabad, a group led by city Mayor Damyanti Goel passed through the main shopping complexes of the city and requested the shop keepers to close. The main markets of Chopla, GT Road, Gandhi Nagar, Bajaria, and convenient shopping centres in newly upcoming residential colonies remained closed early in the day but later resumed their business.

In Noida, a group led by BJP leader Mahesh Sharma took out procession through sector-18 market and other convinient shopping centers in residential colonies to support the shutdown. Shops closed down but were gain open later in the day.