Strike evokes mixed response, cities functioned normally, towns crippled

MUMBAI/KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: The two-day nationwide strike called by trade unions brought to fore the widening gulf between India and Bharat where cities functioned near normal, while industrial activity and day-to-day life in the hinterland was crippled.

Killing, looting and arson marked the strike in Haryana, and Noida, leading to labourers from Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp declaring their intention to join the strike on Thursday.

Flying in and out of metros such as Mumbai and New Delhi was smooth, but Kumbh Mela devotees had to walk miles and jostle for space in bus stands as state transport was down to a trickle helping private transporters make profits hand over fist.

Industry body Assocham raised the loss of about 26,000 crores, from earlier estimated 15,000 crores as the intensity of the strike is more severe than anticipated.

Banking services were near normal for those who use the advanced electronic payments systems, which does not depend on human presence, but those who still depend on cheques and officers to do banking were left high and dry with no cheque clearing.

Production at Coal India, the monopoly supplier of fuel to more than half the power plants in the country, was disrupted with output falling by more than half.

"We have been producing around 1.6 million tonnes in the last few days while the off-take has been about 1.5 million tonnes. However, the Bandh has affected both production and sales, which are down by almost 50% mainly because the contractors and their workers did not turn up for work," CIL chairman, S Narsing Rao told ET.

Eleven trade unions representing millions of workers in state-run companies called for a strike to protest against the soaring prices. Labourers also protested against the so called economic reforms in the banking sector. In Haryana, a bus driver, Narender Singh, who was also the treasurer of All India Trade Union Congress, was killed when he tried to stop a bus which was being taken out from the Ambala bus depot. Thursday may turn out to be a lot more severe with many more unions joining the strike.