Normal life was affected across West Bengal as a total lockdown was imposed in the state on Wednesday in the wake of a spurt in COVID-19 cases.
It is part of the twice-a-week lockdown imposed in the state since July 23 to break the chain of the infection.
Wednesday is the fourth lockdown day in a fortnight.
Security has been tightened to enforce the lockdown and to avert untoward incidents in the wake of the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya during the day, a police official said.
Politically volatile West Bengal is likely to witness a showdown between the police and activists of saffron outfits as the latter have planned to perform rituals at temples and their offices to mark the Ayodhya event amid the lockdown.
Police personnel were seen patrolling major traffic intersections in Kolkata.
Public transport was off the roads and government and private offices, banks and commercial establishments, barring those engaged in essential services, were shut due to the lockdown.
Flight services in and out of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport were suspended for the day and long-distance trains were rescheduled.
Medicine stores, health establishments and petrol pumps have been kept out of the lockdown’s purview.
Schools, colleges and other educational institutions in the state have remained closed since late March when the first phase of the nationwide lockdown was imposed.
A complete lockdown was earlier imposed in West Bengal on July 23, 25 and 29.
The West Bengal government has imposed total lockdown in the state on August 5 (Wednesday), 8 (Saturday), 20 (Thursday), 21 (Friday), 27 (Thursday), 28 (Friday) and 31 (Monday), as per a notification issued on Monday.
The state’s caseload reached 80,984 while its coronavirus death toll rose to 1,785 on Tuesday, a health bulletin said.
