People's Democracy

MASSIVE SUCCESS OF SEPTEMBER 29 STRIKE

More Reports From States

ANDHRA PRADESH

AS a part and parcel of the one-day all-India general strike on September 29, for which the call was given by the Sponsoring Committee of Trade Unions on specific demands, the strike in Andhra Pradesh was a grand success. Lakhs of employees and workers in the offices of the central and state governments, public sector undertakings, banks, insurance companies, private sector and the unorganised sector participated in the strike.  Denouncing the anti-working class economic policies and moves of the central government, and in support of their 12-point charter of demands, demonstrations were held by the employees and workers on a large scale in all the centres of towns, mandals,  industrial  estates and offices. About 10 lakh employees of the state government, one lakh employees of the central government and defence establishments in the state participated in the strike. Nearly 70,000 workers (70 per cent) of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, about 60,000 workers and employees  (60 per cent) of  APSRTC, one lakh anganwadi workers, 55,000 village servants, 65,000 employees of banks and 20,000 insurance employees participated in the strike.  About 10 lakh workers, medical and sales representatives in the private sector participated in the strike.  About one lakh employees in the unorganised sector also participated in the strike. Industrial estates and several central and state public sector organisations wore a deserted look.  

The strike in undertakings of central government viz ECIL, BDL, HCL, BHPV and others was total.  It was partial in Vizag Steel Plant, Shipyard, BEL, Midhani and some other organisations.  Employees in the state government’s secretariat expressed their solidarity to the strike. The police were deployed on a large scale at defence laboratories –– BDL, SCCL and other places, as if an atmosphere of curfew was prevailing.  About 34 workers of the CITU and AITUC were arrested at Kushaiguda in Hyderabad, while many more ware taken into custody at Godavarikhani and other places. Though the central and state leaders of  INTUC and BMS were against the strike, at several places the unions and members of both these trade unions participated in the strike.  S Veeraiah, general secretary of the state committee of the CITU, congratulated all those employees, workers and teachers who made the general strike a grand success.

BIHAR

The strike among the government employees was complete and the secretariat in Patna was picketed by the employees.  The workers in the unorganised sector like beedi, street vendors, contract workers and other small industries joined the strike in a big way.

CHHATTISGARH

The coal belt in the state reported nearly 75 per cent strike but the highlight was the 100 per cent strike in the privatised Balco company. In the iron ore mines at Dalli Rajhara, strike was to the tune of 90 per cent. The markets at Rajnandgaon and Dhamtari were closed owing to strike by all the workers. All the 102 warehouses in the state were closed due to the strike. Beedi workers and Anganwadi workers also joined the strike in a big way. Safai Mazdoor of Raipur Municipal Corporation were on complete strike. In Bhilai Steel Plant, the strike was negligible.

TRIPURA

The response to September 29 strike was overwhelming in Tripura, and it was almost a bandh in the entire state. All schools, colleges, government and private offices, including in bank and insurance sectors, university, shops, markets remained closed on the day. Road, rail and airways were all disrupted completely due to the strike. Plantation workers in tea, rubber and other government and private gardens abstained from their work. However, skeleton services in essential sectors like hospital, nursing homes, milk supply, electricity, press etc remained open.

The CITU workers organised militant demonstrations in innumerable places before prominent offices and market places. The state unit of NPMO, the CPI(M) and the Left Front congratulated the people for their overwhelming support to make the strike a grand success.

JHARKHAND

The strike was complete in the coal belt. Industrial centres viz., Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Dhurua, Dhanbad, Jharia etc witnessed massive rallies and demonstration by striking workers paralysing the traffic. The Rajdhani express and other major trains were blockaded for several hours near Kumardhubi. The G T Road near state capital Ranchi witnessed six hours blockade by the striking workers.  More than a thousand people were arrested in Ranchi and Dhanbad alone. The road transport got severely disrupted owing to massive strike by the transport sector workers.

MADHYA PRADESH

Besides substantial strike in the state government offices, there was an almost complete strike in banks, insurance, postal, telecom sectors. The industrial areas of Mandidip and Gobindpura around the state capital Bhopal, industrial units at Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Bina, Guna etc reported massive strike by workers. The unorganised sector workers of beedi, loading-unloading, rice-mills, anganwadi etc joined the strike in a big way and held road-blockade demonstration in several parts of the state.

ORISSA

The state not only witnessed a successful strike but there was almost a bandh like picture. The  strike was total in LIC, GIC and banking sector in general as well as in BSNL, FCI, Postal, RMS, central government offices like Geological Survey of India, Census, Income Tax, Central Excise, Text book press etc. The public road transport system in the state came to a stand still. Railways and Airways were also seriously affected. Operations in most of the iron ore mines in Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts came to  a standstill because of the strike. Most of the small and medium industries were closed. In Rourkela Steel Plant, around 20 per cent of workers joined the strike. There was total strike in the industrial areas of Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur Road, Berhampur etc. Bandh like situation developed in the state capital Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Paralakhemundi, Bhadrak as well as in a number of small towns.

Orissa Kisan Sabha, Agricultural Workers Union, DYFI and AIDWA conducted rail roko and rasta roko agitation at many places in the state. More than thousand leaders and activists were arrested.

RAJASTHAN

The response to the strike was good among the state government employees and road transport workers in the state. The industrial workers in all the industrial centres, viz Jaipur, Kota, Ganganagar, Jhunujhunu etc joined the strike in a big way. The strike in Khetri Copper Complex and J K Tyre was good. The government employees staged a day-long dharna at many places. Unorganised sector workers in loading-unloading in the mandis also joined the strike paralysing the transactions in the Mandi. In Jaipur, police brutally lathicharged on the peaceful rally of workers, injuring many. Around 25 people were arrested after the lathicharge.  

UTTAR PRADESH

The industrial centres of Saharanpur, Kanpur, Meerut, Bulandsahar, Bareily, Varanasi, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Noida etc reported massive strike action and militant demonstrations. The government employees joined the strike in a big way at many places. Rail roko was organised by the workers along with the peasantry at Allahabad, Etawa, Varanasi and many other places in the state.

UTTARANCHAL

Strike in Jal Nigam, Gadwal Vikash Nigam, and small industries was substantial. All the major hotels in Mussouri was closed. Strike in THDC was partial. Besides complete strike in BSNL, Banks and Insurance, strike was partial in BHEL. Anganwadi workers were on total strike.In Haridwar, municipal workers were on complete strike. Road blockade were organised in Pouri, Uttarkashi Dehradun, Udhamsinghnagar and other places.