Strike total and peaceful in Bengal

Kolkata, Dec 14 (UNI) Life in West Bengal was paralysed as the nationwide 24-hour strike brought to a grinding halt activities in every field.

Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said barring a few stray minor incidents, no report of anything untoward incident had been received from anywhere so far. The state Government had thrown a massive security umbrella to prevent any untoward incident and help those willing to work, he said.

All shops and markets, educational institutions and commercial establishments remained closed, while no Government and private vehicle rolled out on the streets and water transport did not operate.

The strike totally disrupted train services from Howrah and Sealdah stations and in the city's underground railway system, while no flights, barring those carrying Haj pilgrims, took off or arrived at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport.

All employees and workers were absent in Banks and government and insurance offices.

No attendance by officers and employees had been reported from both Kolkata and Haldia ports and attendance was reported to be zero in the state's coal mines and tea gardens.

With the strike casting a total impact on industry, factory gates remained closed in the industrial areas of Barrackpore, Durgapur and Hooghly, while farmers and agricultural workers also stayed away from the field.

The state Secretariat at the Writers' Buildings wore a deserted look with all the employees being absent from duty.

While the Ministers could not also come because of drivers joining the strike, only a handful of top bureaucrats managed to drop in their offices.

However, normal functioning was reported from the state's IT hub in Salt Lake Sector Five as the authorities had made prior arrangements for overnight stay of the employees.

The strike was called by the National Platform of Mass Organisations (NPMO), a combine of 56 mass organizations in protest against the "anti people" policies of the UPA Government and pressing for a 16-point charter of demands.

CPI(M) frontal wing CITU, a major constituent of NPMO, worked over time to make the strike a success with support from the ruling Left Front Government.

" The strike is absolute and total everywhere. Nobody has been forced against attending duty. It is spontaneous as the demands we have placed to the UPA Government are for the common people from almost every walk of life, " CITU state president Shyamal Chakraborty told UNI.

Inspector Genral of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia said extra forces had been deployed all over the state with a special thrust on guarding vital installations, highways, bridges.

Strong contingents of police had been posted in some sensitive areas, including the Naxalite-affected districts and Darjeeling, he said.

Police Commissioner Prasun Mukherjee said about 5,000 policemen had been put on duty in the city. While forces had been posted everywhere, including important areas, the number of radio flying squads had been increased for constant monitoring of the law and order situation.

" There is an order on the policemen on duty to act against any obstruction to the people willing to work. However, we have not received any such complaint so far, " he said.

Railway authorities said no trains left Howrah and Sealdah station since this morning, while a number of long distance trains coming to Kolkata got detained at different points since the bandh began at six AM.

Following an appeal by the CITU to spare passengers of the harassment of being stranded at airport on the day of the strike, authorities of both Government and private airlines cancelled all the flights to and from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport.

Though Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee ordered all arrangements to ensure that willing people could go to their work places, transport workers in the Government and private sector did not join duty making it impossible for anybody to venture out.

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