Banks shut, public transport disrupted by trade union strike in Bengal

West Bengal police officials said several government buses were ransacked by supporters of the strike in north Bengal, especially in Cooch Behar district. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a four-day tour of north Bengal, asked the police to lodge first information reports (FIR) against the supporters of the strike.

The 48-hour nationwide strike called by trade unions against the “anti-labour” policies of the Centre shut down banks and ATM counters across Bengal on Monday while local train and bus services were disrupted in several districts.

Left parties, especially the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), and its frontal organisations and the CPI-ML (Liberation) took the lead in observing the general strike in Bengal. (SAMIR JANA/HT PHOTO.)

The strike will continue on Tuesday.

State police officials said several government buses were ransacked by supporters of the strike in north Bengal, especially in Cooch Behar district. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is on a four-day tour of north Bengal, asked the police to lodge first information reports (FIR) against the supporters of the strike.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) government passed a law a few years ago under which people ransacking public vehicles and property are liable to pay for the losses.

Left parties, especially the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), and its frontal organisations and the CPI-ML (Liberation) took the lead in observing the general strike in Bengal. The Congress and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of peasants’ unions, also joined them.

In Howrah, 12 CPI (M) workers were arrested for blocking roads.

The strike observers got into altercations with the police in several districts such as East Burdwan, West Midnapore, Howrah, Nadia, Bankura, Purulia, South 24 Parganas and Hooghly when they forcefully stopped buses.

Local trains were stopped at several locations.

The trade unions said in a statement on Monday afternoon that 60% of the tea gardens in north Bengal and 24 out of 54 jute mills in south Bengal were completely closed. “Attendance at the rest of the jute mills ranged from 60 to 80%. All private transport operators across Bengal took part in the strike,” the statement said.

Attendance of workers at coal mines and steel industries was around 30% and 25% respectively, the unions said.

In Kolkata, around 60% radio taxi drivers took part in the strike, the statement added.