Thiruvananthapuram/Bengaluru: Parts of Kerala continued to be in disarray Wednesday with trains blocked and a SBI branch vandalised while in Karnataka an effigy of the Prime Minister was burnt but rest of the south was largely peaceful on the second day of the two-day nationwide stir. The strike was called by ten central trade unions against the Centre’s “anti-labour” policies.
In Kerala, a treasury branch of the State Bank of India at Thiruvanathapuram was attacked by a group of people. A branch official said a group of people came to the manager’s cabin around 10 am and threatened him and his staff, damaged a glass-top table and a computer monitor. Police said the perpetrators are yet to be nabbed.
The strike also affected the movement of pilgrims to the Sabarimala temple, resulting in a fall in arrival of devotees, even though the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) had arranged bus services from various destinations to Pamba. At Kochi, port trust authorities arranged vehicles and other facilities for tourists who arrived at the port city on a cruise liner, they said. At Thiruvananthapuram railway station, the Thiruvananthapuram-Hyderabad Sabari Express and Venad Express were blocked, while the Kottayam-Nilambur passenger train in Kalamassery was held up for a while. Following the delayed departure, some trains were running late, officials said.
Autorickshaws were also off the roads. Many shopkeepers alleged that they were asked to down shutters. Most textile and spices shops in the Broadway Market in Kochi and Mittayi Theruvu (sweet street) in Kozhikode were open. Shops were open in the suburbs of all major towns and along the highways, but the roads remained traffic-free at most places as public transport, especially KSRTC, did not ply services, except to Pamba at the foothills of Sabarimala.
In Karnataka’s Davangere, protesters disrupted bus services, staged demonstration and burnt an effigy of the prime minister to vent their anger against the central government’s ‘anti-labour’ policies, officials said. Bus services were Wednesday hampered across the state, they said. Causing severe inconvenience to commuters, hundreds of protesters from the Left trade unions disrupted bus services at Majestic, the Central Bus Stand at Bengaluru, Transport Department officials said.
People, however, went about their day-to-day activities as usual. Trade union workers took out rallies in several parts of the state holding placards, flags and raised slogans against the central government. Police said they thwarted attempts made by protesters to disrupt train services. Protesters hurled stones at KSRTC buses on Magadi Road and near Yelahanka in Bengaluru. Some schools and colleges in the city remained shut. Metro rail was the saviour for commuters as its services remained unaffected. Agitators threw stones at some trains in Kalaburagi and Ballari, railways sources said.
In Tamil Nadu, trains were stopped by protesters at a few places while banking services in some public sector banks interrupted in Telangana but life largely remained unaffected. In Chennai, protests were held at Mount Road and Perambur and Guindy railway stations. The CITU’s Tamil Nadu president A Soundararajan along with over 100 protesters were detained for picketing trains at the Guindy railway station, police said. Similar protests were held in front of Madurai railway station and near the old bus-stand in Thanjavur district and Tiruchirappalli station affecting movement of vehicles and rail traffic. Police said no incidents of violence were reported.
Offices, commercial establishments and educational institutions functioned normally. Operations of 85,000 public and private sector branches functioning in Tamil Nadu and 25,000 cooperative society banks were affected during the strike, Tamil Nadu bank employees federation (BEFTN) general secretary C P Krishnan said. Barring interruption to banking services in some public sector banks, it was business as usual in Telangana Wednesday.
Employees belonging to the All India Bank Employees Association and Bank Employees Federation of India took part in the strike affecting banking transactions partially across the State, AIBEA national secretary B S Rambabu said. More than 22 lakh employees and workers of public, private and unorganised sectors in Telangana took part, Telangana CITU General secretary M Saibabu claimed.
For the second day, the strike had hardly any impact in Andhra Pradesh with buses and other transport vehicles plying smoothly. Offices remained open and educational institutions functioned,officials said. No untoward incidents were reported in the Union Territory of Puducherry where most commercial establishments remained open and educational institutions and offices functioned as usual.
