The 24-hour general strike called by Central trade unions on Thursday witnessed mixed responses across various districts in the State. The Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh, however, had stayed away from the strike.
In Angul, coal production activities were disrupted in Talcher Coalfields which produces more than two lakh tonne coal per day. The strike paralysed production in eight coal mines. While more than 40 rakes carry coal daily from Talcher, there was no coal despatch by rail on the day.
“The strike is a total success not only in Talcher but also IB Valley and Basundhara areas of MCL. We want privatisation and commercialisation of coal mines to stop in the country. The protest was peaceful,” said Souvagya Pradhan, general secretary of INTUC.
However, SP Jagamohan Meena said, all other industries like NTPC power plants, Nalco and JSPL operated as usual. There was no untoward incident in any part of the district and strike had a minimal impact.
In Jajpur district, the strike had a strong impact with workers of several central trade unions staging road blockade on national highways. All buses, trucks and other vehicles were off the roads. Trucks were seen stranded at several places along NH-16, 215, 200 and 5A. Agitators were seen picketing in front of government offices. The services of various banks were also affected.
There was a mixed response to the strike in Rourkela city as well as the rest of Sundargarh district. While majority of shops and business establishments remained closed in Rourkela, State government offices were open with little or no public attendance.
Commercial vehicles kept off the roads while private vehicles plied. Here CITU and AIUTUC besides Indian Postal Employees’ Federation and LIC Employees’ Federation participated. They held demonstrations at the Rourkela railway station, Bisra Square, Traffic Gate area and Vedvyas.
The agitators protested recent amendments to labour and farm laws, moves on privatisation of PSUs and Indian Railways, and price rise. They also demanded minimum monthly wages at `21,000. CITU’s national vice-president Bishnu Mohanty and AITUC senior leader Pravat Mishra claimed success of the strike in the district.
There was however a luke warm response to the bandh call in Koraput district. Markets and business establishments functioned like normal days. So did government offices. Trade union activists along with members of Congress party staged dharna on different roads in Jeypore and Koraput affecting vehicular traffic.
Agitators blocked NH 26 spreading from Visakhapatanam to Raipur. However, the traffic was cleared in the afternoon.