Trade unions’ strike hits life, businesses in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - The one-day nationwide shutdown called by eight trade unions Tuesday partially hit normal life and businesses in several industrial towns of Orissa.

The roads were deserted in Rourkela, Sundergarh, Jharsuguda and Berhampur as the operators kept buses and commercial vehicles off the roads, a senior state police official told IANS.

Mining operations in mineral-rich Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts were paralysed.

Mine workers suspended work and transportation of ore was stopped as private transporters did not ply vehicles.

Schools, colleges, banks, post offices, petrol vends and other business establishments were also closed in some places, the police official said.

But work in major business establishments, including at the state-owned National Aluminium Company (NALCO) mines and refinery in Koraput district and smelter in Angul district, has not been affected.

Similarly, operations were normal at the Rourkela Steel Plant, a subsidiary of the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

“We have about 98 percent attendance in the plant,” a senior Rourkela plant official told IANS on phone.

The strike has also not affected operations at Paradip port in Jagatsinghpur district, a port official said.

Railways operations remained normal although protesters squatted on tracks and halted trains for a few minutes in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.

Major trade unions, including those of the Left and the Congress, was called the strike to protest price rise, violation of labour laws and privatisation.

It was called by the Coordination Committee of the Central Trade Unions headed by Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).