New Delhi: Sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal and Kerala and rail blockades in certain states were witnessed on the second day of the Bharat Bandh on Wednesday, which also saw a partial disruption of banking and insurance services across the country.
Other sectors like mining, road transport, power supply too bore the brunt of strike call given by country’s 10 major central trade unions, except RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, to protest against the government’s alleged anti-labour policies and unilateral labour reforms.
They had given a call for a two-day Bharat Bandh on January 8 and 9. Stray incidents of violence were reported from various parts of West Bengal Wednesday.
Stones were pelted at school buses in Howrah district. Similar incidents were reported on Tuesday as well. There were similar incidents of stone pelting in other parts of the state too.
In Kerala, a treasury branch of the State Bank of India in Thiruvananthapuram was attacked and trains were blocked in various parts of state on the second day of strike. Trains were stopped by protesters at a few places in Tamil Nadu and banking services in some public sector banks interrupted in Telangana but life largely remained unaffected on Wednesday.
However, some impact of the strike was seen in Goa as private buses and tourist taxis remained off roads.
In Mumbai, lakhs of commuters faced hardships as an indefinite strike called by BEST, the city’s civic transport undertaking, continued. There were only five buses plying on city roads.
Causing severe inconvenience to commuters in Bengaluru, hundreds of protesters from the Left trade unions disrupted bus services at Majestic, the Central Bus Stand, here.
Train services in Eastern Railway zone were disrupted Wednesday after supporters of the Bandh resorted to blockades at many places. A suspected bomb was found on the railway tracks at Ashoknagar in Sealdah-Bongaon section that led to suspension of train services in the route.
Banking services were also partially affected for the second day, as a section of PSU bank employees came in support of the strike call. All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees’ Federation of India (BEFI) have supported the strike, which has impacted banking operation where these two unions are strong.
However, the operation in SBI and private sector banks remained unaffected as other seven unions in the banking sector are not part of the strike.
Hind Mazdoor Sabha General Secretary Harbhajan Singh Sidhu said there is 100 per cent strike in Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Manipur, Maharashtra and Goa and mining activity was almost stopped across the country.
He also said that there was 100 per cent strike in 22 districts of Madhya Pradesh and 20 districts of Karnataka.
According to unions, the strike was affected due to UGC exams, which started from Tuesday as some state transport departments decided not participate completely in the strike in the interest of students. The exams were scheduled in some states on Wednesday as well. They have alleged that the government has failed to create jobs and grossly ignored unions’ 12-point charter of demands.
They also said that Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on labour issues has not called unions for any discussion since September 2, 2015, strike which left them with no other option but to go on another strike.
Farming communities, through their associations, have also extended support to the strike. Student and teacher organisations of various universities have also declared support, the statement had said. (PTI)
