Routine life was not affected much by the nation-wide strike called by trade unions here on Friday as the government and private buses ran as usual. Even 50 per cent autos and mini vans were also operated. However, traffic was affected in certain pockets within the city limit owing to road picketing.
Members of trade unions staged demonstration, picketed roads and attempted rail roko to show their protest against the Central government. A total of 1,200 members of various trade unions and government employees’ association were arrested as they were involved in road picketing in 18 places in the district.
While members of the government employees’ association staged demonstration before the Dindigul Corporation office and picketed the Corporation road, Communist cadres led by former Dindigul MLA K. Balabarathi picketed head post office road and staged demonstration. A group of trade union members attempted to barge in to the Dindigul railway station to block trains. But they were arrested at the entrance of the station. Similar demonstration took place in other parts of the district.
TheniA total of 737 members including 74 women representing various trade unions were arrested when they picketed main roads in 10 places in the district on the same day. They raised slogans against the anti-people policies of the Central government. Members of various trade unions took part in the strike. Routine life was not affected owing to operation of private and government buses and also autos.
Ramanathapuram/SivagangaNormal life remained unaffected in the two districts but work in Central and State government offices were hit as the All India strike called by the central trade unions, pressing 12 point charter of demands evoked partial response. Though normal life remained unaffected in the two districts as Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) operated normal bus services and shops and commercial establishments remained open in the two districts, work in Central and State government offices were severely hit in Ramanathapuram and partially in Sivaganga district.
A majority of employees in State Revenue department, Insurance offices, Department of Post, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Commercial and Income Tax offices struck work even as police arrested more than 1,600 members of various trade unions in the two districts when they attempted to stage agitations and picketing programmes, violating police orders.
Revenue department was the worst hit with all the 547 employees in Ramanathapuram district abstaining from work. The strike was total in the Insurance offices, Postal Department, BSNL and Income and Commercial Taxes Departments in the district, sources said.
Functioning was partially hit in nationalised and Central Cooperative Banks, the sources said. Though about 40 per cent of TNSTC employees failed to turn up for work, the authorities managed to operate near full fleet, the sources said.
A total of 1,040, including 216 women members of various Central trade unions courted arrest in Ramanathapuram district when they attempted to stage demonstrations in nine places and picketing at Thiruvadanai, violating police orders. In Sivaganga, 605 volunteers were arrested when they attempted to block roads in Sivaganga, Karaikudi and Kallal. Those who staged demonstrations at four places and dharna at one place, were, however, not arrested in the district, police said.
Those arrested included John Soundarajan, CITU district secretary and other office bearers including N. S. Perumal, Sudalai Karthi, Muthuvijayan, C. R. Senthilvel and Ashokan in Ramanathapuram and former CPI MLA Gunasekaran in Sivaganga.
VirudhunagarOver 1,760 members of various trade unions were arrested when they tried to picket roads across Virudhunagar district. Among them were 226 women. However, they were released later in the evening. Police sources said that though 409 employees of State Transport Corporations abstained from work, no bus service was affected. A section of auto drivers kept their vehicles off the road during the bandh.
Among 8,000 State Government employees, around 2,400 struck work on Friday.
Out of 175 insurance employees, 121 participated in the strike. Banking activities were also partially hit as over 400 out of 1,170 employees did not work. The number of employees who participated in the day-long bandh was higher in BSNL as 339 out of 527 did not report for duty.
