Friday, Apr 19, 2024 | Last Update : 02:07 PM IST
Poor response to CTUs strike
Life normal in state barring some rail blockades.
Kolkata/Berhampore: The two-day nationwide strike, called by the Left and Congress-affiliated trade unions, has failed to make any impact barring some stray incidents of rail blockades and violence in West Bengal on Tuesday. While markets and business establishments were open in most parts of the state including Kolkata, normal life remained unaffected by and large.
Government offices witnessed large number of employees’ attendance. The Left leaders took out processions since morning from different parts of the city and districts. At Harinavi on the southern outskirts of Kolkata, a government bus was vandalised by bandh supporters.
At Garia, the bandh supporters clashed with the police. In Jadavpur, CPI (M) MLA Sujan Chakraborty and several Left workers were arrested by the police during a demonstration at 8B bus stand area in the morning. Panic ran high in Sovabazar area during office hours while some bandh supporters tried to torch a bus at a traffic signal on Chittaranjan Avenue. The police, however, foiled it.
The Eastern Railway informed that the train services on both Howrah and Sealdah divisions were disrupted as the bandh supporters obstructed train movements in a sporadic manner at different stations in various sections of both the divisions and threw banana leaves on the overhead wire.
In the Howrah division, the obstructions led to the cancellations of 31 EMU local trains. Around 75 EMU locals were detained enroute since early morning.
In the Sealdah division, the obstructions led to cancellation of 68 EMU locals and 174 EMU locals were detained enroute.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose, who participated in the protest rallies during the day, however maintained that the strike would be observed certainly on Wednesday also.
Food supplies minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said: “We are ready for Wednesday. Our boys will be on the road. If they (the bandh supporters) try to repeat what they have done today, they will be beaten up. Destruction of the government properties will not be allowed anyway.”
