Bharat Bandh LIVE Updates: A 57-year-old woman collapsed and died during trade unions’ protest in Uttar Kannada’s Mundagodi on Tuesday, while nearly 5,000 bandh supporters blocked the Mumbai-Baroda-Jaipur-Delhi national highway in Maharashtra’s Palghar. There were also reports of protesters hurling stones at a Tamil Nadu state bus in Puducherry.
Trains were stopped, buses and auto-rickshaws kept off roads as the 48-hour general strike called by 10 central trade unions against “anti-labour policies” of the central government, hit normal life in the country on Tuesday. Trains were stopped in Thiruvananthapuram, Tripunithura, Shoranur railway stations, while tyres were burnt in West Bengal to stop buses from plying in the roads. In Odisha, shops, markets, business establishments, educational institutions and offices remained closed, while vehicular movement virtually came to a grinding halt.
Incidents of vandalism were reported from Bengaluru and West Bengal’s Asansol. A police officer said that bandh supporters allegedly forced Asansol shopkeepers to shut shops, while some allegedly ransacked South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC). There were also reports of miscreants hurling stones on a BMTC bus in Bengaluru’s Basaveshwaranagar.
The nationwide general strike has disrupted normal life as transport, bank and other services have been affected in several cities. The bandh has been called by 10 trade unions across the country against what they believe are “anti-labour policies of Modi government”. Workers from the power, steel, auto, and financial services sector are all set to participate in the ‘historic event’.
Ten trade unions who have jointly called for the nationwide general strike are INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, AICCTU, UTUC, TUCC, LPF and SEWA. The trade unions have supports of almost all major independent federations of central employees, state employees and the employees of banks, insurance, telecom, and other service sectors representing the workers and employees of all the industries and services including transport services, both in organised and unorganised sectors.
“AIKS and Bhumi Adhikar Andolan will observe ‘gramin hartal’, rail roko and road roko on January 8 and 9, the day trade unions are observing the nationwide general strike. This move is against the Modi government’s failure to address rural distress issues, to save rural farmers’ lands from the corporates. The farmers will extend all support to the ensuing general strike,” said Hannan Mollah, general secretary of the CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha.
Atul Kumar Anjaan of the CPI’s peasant wing said that the action committee of farmers in their meeting decided that when the workers, employees and common people are protesting against the Modi government’s policies, the farmers will also join them.
“The farmers will join road jam, demonstration, protest meetings throughout the country to make the nationwide strike a success and register their disenchantment with PM Narendra Modi and his policies,” said Anjaan.
In Karnataka, buses, radio taxis, auto rickshaws and other transport facilities remained shut, except for a few places. Hospitals and ambulance facilities, however, are working. In West Bengal, the administration assured that candidates appearing for JEE Main exam, which begins today (January 8) and ends on Saturday (January 12), will not be affected due to the two-day strike called by CPIM-led trade union CITU.
In Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) buses stopped plying from 5am today as nearly 35,000 workers are on strike after talks with the management failed on Friday evening. In Kerala, trains were blocked at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikkod.
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