25,000 arrested, banking, insurance sectors hit

Chennai, Dec 14 (UNI) Normal life remained unaffected, while services in Banking and Insurance sectors came to a standstill in Tamil Nadu today as the one-day General Strike by Leftist trade unions against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government's economic and industrial policies evoked partial response.

More than 25,000 people, mostly volunteers of the Left parties and activists of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and Mazdoor Union of Southern Railway were arrested when they attempted to stage demonstrations and block traffic in various parts of the state.

In the city, more than 5,000 people, including 748 women, were arrested when they tried to stage demonstrations and block traffic, defying prohibitory orders in different parts. Communist Party of India (Marxist) Legislator G Magendiran was among those arrested in the city.

Bus service, was normal autorickshaws also plied normally. Shops, commercial and business establishments remained opened.

A section of employees of the Airport Authority of India abstained from work, but flight services by and large remained unaffected, airport sources said.

In view of total bandh in Kerala, Paramount Airways cancelled its morning flight to Thiruvananthapuram, while Alliance Airlines operated its Kolkata flight from here upto Bhubaneswar. Jet Airways cancelled its to and fro flights to Kolkata, the sources added.

The banking and insurance sectors were the worst-hit as more than 90 per cent of transactions came to a grinding halt in almost all the branches in the state, Mr C H Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees's Association claimed. Except in State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), whose employees did not join the strike, services in all the other nationalised banks in the state were hit, he told UNI.

''The shutters are open in the branches, but there is no transaction. The officers, who did not join the strike, offered moral support by not taking up clerical work,'' he said. Same was the case in insurance sector, he added.

Members of Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI) and All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Co-operative Bank Employees' Federation (AICBEF), Employees of Food Corporation of India, Defence establishments and Railways also staged slogan shouting demonstrations in various places in the state.

Work in public sector General insurance companies like United India Insurance, National Insurance, Oriental Insurance and New India Assurance was affected as more than 30,000 employees joined the strike, Mr J Gurumurthy, Secretary, All India Insurance Employees Association said.

Mr P Balakrishnan, General Secretary of AICBEF, claimed the sttike was total in the cooperative banks in the state.

More than three lakh defence and civilian employees of various defence establishments also joined the strike, Mr C Srikumar, General Secretary of the All India Defence Employees Federation said.

UNI