Bharat Bandh gets cold response in Pune as transport, industries remain unaffected; farmers agitate in Kolhapur; Solapur sees slight impact - Hindustan Times
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Bharat Bandh gets cold response in Pune as transport, industries remain unaffected; farmers agitate in Kolhapur; Solapur sees slight impact

Jan 09, 2020 04:24 PM IST

The Bharat bandh call by prominent labour unions and political parties such as the Shiv Sena, Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) received a cold response in Pune. In Kolhapur district, farmers led by the SSS leader Raju Shetti, blocked the Sangli-Kolhapur highway.

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Life was normal in the city with schools and colleges maintaining their routine even as public sector government employees, bank employees, a few labour unions and many mobile shop retailers participated in the bandh.

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The bandh was called to protest the ‘anti-people’ policies of the union government and poor implementation of the seventh pay commission.

Farmers from the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee did not participate in the bandh on grounds that it was called at the last minute and most perishable items have to be sold off.

Trader Vilas Bhujbal said, “Perishable items come from various states and so we did not participate in this bandh. Most items have already left the state and we cannot keep them stocked.”

Despite call for protest by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and bank unions, LIC branches and co-operative banks in the city were seen functioning. Schools and colleges continued to function as usual.

The Pune Municipal Corporation staff also did not participate in the protest as the administration had warned of action for absenteeism.

The Electronics and Mobile Association had called for a bandh for three days on January 6, 7 and 8, to protest the heavy discounts being offered by online companies and its adverse impact on small retailers.

Around 25,000 retailers from across the country have participated in this protest while around 750 retailers from Pune have gathered for this protest in Delhi, said Bhavesh Solanki, the association’s Pune representative.

Farmers block Sangli-Kolhapur highway

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and an ally of Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Raju Shetti took out a massive protest march in Kolhapur district blocking the Sangli-Kolhapur highway.

Shetti, who was critical of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s farm loan waiver scheme, blocked the road at Ankali toll naka, blocking traffic moving towards Kolhapur and Sangli.

“On the one hand, while the Centre’s policies have been anti-farmers, the loan waiver scheme rolled out by Maharashtra government is also not helpful to farmers in Maharashtra,” he said.

No impact on transport

In Pune city, the bandh had no impact on PMPML buses, local trains and autorickshaws. “Buses operated by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) are plying normally,” said Shankar Pawar, director, PMPML. The autorikshaws and private cab operators also did not participate in the bandh.

Industrial areas do business as usual

While most small-scale industries operated smoothly in Pune on Wednesday, in the outskirts and MIDC areas, the bandh had some impact with trade union leader Ajit Abhyankar claiming that at least 15,000 people affiliated to various central trade unions, Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, posts, banks, and other government establishments participated in a public rally outside the district collectorate in Pune.

He said that 70 per cent of factories and manufacturing units in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Bhosari, Chakan and Ranjangaon MIDC around Pune remained closed.

“Whatever units that functioned today were largely due to contractual employees,” he said.

Federation of Chakan Industries (FCI) secretary Dileep Batwal said that 20 to 25 per cent of industries were affected in Chakan MIDC area due to the strike.

Attendance thin in various govt offices in Solapur

In Solapur, transport and other services remained largely unaffected.

A senior Solapur police officer said that the strike had no impact on the normal life in the city. However, a district official said that attendance remained thin in various government offices in Solapur.

Narasayya Adam, a trade union leader from Solapur, said that they conducted rasta-rokos at nine places in the city and at two places in rural areas.

Trade unions INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC along with various sectoral independent federations and associations are participating in the strike for various demands.

(With agency inputs)

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