Rediff.com's Vrushali Lad on the bandh in Mumbai.

BEST buses are plying normally, autorickshaws in certain parts of the city, such as Andheri, Goregaon and Kandivli are off the roads.

Incidents of stone-pelting on BEST buses at a few spots in Mumbai. Three BEST buses were pelted with stones and their windshields damaged at Worli, by suspected RPI activists. At other places, tyres of BEST buses were deflated. All over Maharashtra, about 22 state transport buses have been pelted with stones.

Offices and restaurants in south Mumbai will remain shut till 4 pm today. Madhulika Dash, a freelance writer and Colaba resident who heads out every morning for breakfast said, "The restaurant I go to every morning is closed. The owner told me that they will open only after 4 pm today." Offices in the Fort area of Mumbai, the commercial district of the city, were closed.

The city is quieter today, especially in usually crowded places like Dadar station with taxi stands also empty. At Borivli station, the absence of autorickshaws has opened up the roads for commuters to walk without having to brave traffic snarls.

A shopkeeper in the Kandivli suburb said on condition of anonymity, "My son opened our grocery shop at 9 am time today, but within minutes, two men came and quietly told him to down shutters. We closed the shop because we don't want any trouble."

Police bandobast is heavy in areas where there are railway stations, bus depots, taxi stands, and in places where Shiv Sena and BJP activists staged 'rasta rokos. Attendance is low in several places. Banks and petrol pumps are working normally, but the city's famed dabbawallahs are taking the day off.