This Bharat Bandh is India’s first major protest since the state elections. The 48-hour protest entered its second day on Tuesday. It has been called by a group of trade unions protesting against what they call “anti-worker and anti-farmer policies”.
The supply of Goods and services can be affected in a number of states, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh among others.
High court orders prohibit government employees from abstaining from work, calling it illegal. In Kerela the State-run buses did not operate while taxis, auto-rickshaws and private buses kept away from the roads.
Left-backed agitators have blocked train tracks and also protested on streets in West Bengal. The state government was criticised by the Left for not supporting a strike call against the centre after the state government employees were told to not miss work due to the general strike.
Some buses ransacked by supporters of the strike in north Bengal. Haryana commuters bore the brunt as state-run buses remained off-roads. Transport services were affected in Karnal, Panipat, Kurukshetra, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Ambala, Yamunanagar and Kaithal districts.
