The protest by political parties against demonetisation did not affect life in the city on Monday.

The RJD and Congress had decided not to join the shutdown but stage a protest against demonetisation, and the JDU had completely kept away from Monday's protest/bandh call.

Barring a few traffic disruptions at Dakbungalow Chowk for around 20 minutes, everything was normal.

The administration had pressed into service a huge contingent of police to avert any untoward incident.

Around 12.30pm, traffic at Dakbungalow Chowk came to a standstill for almost 20 minutes as members of three Left parties - CPI, CPM and CPI-ML (Liberation) - converged with workers of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party. As the party cadres squatted on the road, vehicular movement came to a halt. SP members burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and raised slogans against demonetisation.

When cops tried to remove the blockade forcefully by lifting the protesters, a mild altercation ensued. However, senior police officers at the spot, including Kotwali deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Shibli Nomani, were seen asking the protesters to lift the blockade so that traffic movement could resume.

Earlier, around 20 Congress supporters, who were raising slogans at Dakbungalow Chowk, were arrested by the police but were later released. RJD members, too, were stopped by police personnel stationed at Income Tax roundabout on way to Dakbungalow.

The cadres then went back to their party office on Beer Chand Patel Marg, raising slogans against the Narendra Modi government outside the office.

Some CPI-ML (Liberation) workers, who tried to stop vehicular movement near Gandhi Maidan, were also swiftly removed by the police. A few Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members, not more than 20, were seen raising slogans against the central government's move at Kargil Chowk.

Barring stray incidents of train stoppage, road traffic was normal and attendance in offices, banks, schools and colleges remained mostly unaffected.

All major business establishments, malls, cinemas, petrol pumps also remained unaffected. The two government medical colleges and hospitals - PMCH and NMCH - functioned as normal. Operations at Patna Junction and the airport, too, remained unaffected. Private vehicles plied as usual.

As part of the All India Students' Federation's protests, there were even some children carrying placards and shouting slogans such as "Hum Modi se azaadi mang rahen hain note bandi ke liye" (We want freedom from Modi because of note ban) at Dakbungalow roundabout.

Transport

Autorickshaws, the city's public transport lifeline, were seen plying on every route - despite Patna Auto Rickshaw Chalak Sangh president Raj Kumar Jha's claim on Sunday that there would be a complete shutdown of autorickshaws in Patna. The same was the story for mini-buses, both private and public.

Offices

All government and private offices remained open on Monday. All major insurance companies, including LIC main branch on Fraser Road, functioned normally. Employees posted at state secretariat offices - Vikas Bhavan, Visveshwarya Bhavan and Lalit Bhavan - came to work.

Schools

All prominent schools in the city remained open. They include St Michael's High School, St Xavier's High School, DAV Public School, BSEB Colony, Don Bosco Academy, Patna, and Mount Carmel High School. Attendance was normal, said authorities of St Michael's High School and Loyola High School. Mount Carmel High School principal M. Serena said attendance was as usual. Similarly, all colleges - both under Patna University and Magadh University - functioned normally with students in large numbers seen outside Patna Women's College, Magadh Mahila College, JD Women's College and BN College.

Markets

All business establishments remained open during bandh. All major shopping malls - P&M Mall at Patliputra, Patna Central Mall on Fraser Road and Cinepolis - functioned normally with buyers thronging outlets. All shops on Fraser Road, Station Road, Kankerbagh, Raza Bazaar and Boring Road remained open.

Rail stations, airport

Passenger inflow at Patna Junction and airport was the same as on any normal day. Not a single incident of train stoppage was reported from Patna Junction. As all private vehicles, autos and mini-buses plied through the day, passengers were spared of any hassles. Operations at the airport was also normal. Fliers did not face problems while commuting to or from the airport. Supporters of All India Students' Federation (AISF) and students' union members of CPI and Jan Adhikar Party stopped a few trains at Rajendranagar Terminal but police and GRP personnel removed them.

Banks

All private and public sector banks and functional ATMs remained open. The main office of SBI at Gandhi Maidan witnessed a huge turnout, as did the RBI office located nearby.

Hospitals

Both PMCH and NMCH witnessed normal patient inflow. The out patient departments (OPDs) at both the hospitals functioned without any disturbance. A doctor at PMCH said: "The OPDs functioned as on other days with around 2,000 patients visiting the hospital on Monday."