Kolkata, Mar 28 (PTI) Left activists blocked roads and railway tracks at several places across West Bengal on Monday in support of the two-day nationwide strike called by central trade unions to protest against the “wrong” policies of the Union government, partially affecting normal life.
Markets and shops were open while essential services like healthcare, electricity and fuel supplies remained unaffected on the first day of the stir.
Public and private offices and educational institutions were not impacted by the strike.
Left supporters blocked roads at places in districts such as North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri, Paschim and Purba Medinipur, Hooghly and Coochbehar.
The Left activists were seen carrying models of LPG cylinders and petrol cans to protest against the fuel price hike. They also shouted slogans against the BJP-led central government.
The Left activists blocked railway tracks at Jadavpur in Eastern Railway’s Sealdah division. Rail blockades were also reported from the Howrah division.
Banking services were partially impacted as branches in a few areas downed shutters with a section of employees not reporting for duty, while many ATMs remained closed.
However, there was hardly any impact on the functioning of private sector banks.
INTUC backed Jute Mill trade union leader Ganesh Sarkar said the strike was a partial success in jute mills. Several mills in Howrah remained closed, but many others were operational.
An Eastern Coalfields official said 90 per cent of the production remained normal. SAIL’s Durgapur Steel plant also remained operational. There were no reports of any significant disruptions in industrial productions in Haldia industrial town, ports and the IT sector.
CITU state president Anadi Sahoo said that the Left trade unions, student bodies and supporters were on the streets to make the strike a success.
“The first day of the strike was a complete success despite threats by the ruling TMC and the BJP,” Sahoo said.
On Saturday, the West Bengal government asked all its employees to report for duty during the 48-hour nationwide strike on March 28 and 29, failing which they will be issued show-cause notices.
Although the ruling TMC is opposed to any form of strike and shutdown, this time, it was not very active in foiling the strike call, unlike on previous occasions, except for issuing circulars at government offices.
Several senior Left leaders held rallies in Kolkata and various parts of the state in support of the strike.
The state BJP accused the TMC and the Left of being hand in gloves.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given a two-day strike call on Monday and Tuesday to protest against a number of government policies.
The central trade unions part of this joint forum are INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC. PTI BSM PNT NN NN
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Source: The Print
