Although the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the call for a bandh today by the DMK and its allies may seem like a victory to the opposing camp, for all practical purposes today seems to be a bandh day in our area. A walk through Perungudi and Kandhanchavadi showed that, by and large, everything was closed. To begin with, all the cars were in their slots in our apartment complex, with the usual buzz of departures for work completely absent. Traffic on the OMR is thin, with the buses and cars that ferry the IT personnel to work conspicuous by their absence. All the shutters were down in Perungudi, encouraged by a pandhal on the main road with the DPA alliance flags displayed, and their local members prominently present. There was also a fleet of motorcycles belonging to some seniors of the party’s cadres, cruising around to take stock of the situation.

Kandhanchavadi had some restaurants and tea shops that were open, as well as newspaper marts and some potti kakadis, but the tension in the air was palpable. I was quite grateful I had not carried my camera along just in case! Some of the junior party members gathered on the main road, eying the establishments that were open, and a motorcycle borne senior rode up to confer with them. I had heard that they had forcibly closed a tea shop in Perungudi earlier in the day. As I walked towards CBI colony off Kandhanchavadi, I saw a lone police man walking towards the main road looking both stern and nervous at the same time. The ruling on Sunday did not make much of a difference because most companies had already declared Monday off and compensated for it with alternate working days. However, shops, restaurants and small businesses could still operate depending on the situation. What is the situation in your area? Please post a comment so we can get and idea of how its going. It will, in all likelihood, ease during the day as it usually does. So if you are taking stock of the situation it should be in the morning.