CITU terms today's general strike as total

Kolkata, Aug 20 (UNI) Describing today's general strike as total, the CITU today said it evoked an unprecedented response from workers in West Bengal.

'' The strike in the state was total, spontaneous and peaceful. By participating in it, the workers have discarded the Centre's economic, industrial and labour policy, '' CITU state committee Secretary Kali Ghosh said.

He said all shops, markets, offices and educational institutions remained closed throughout the state, while steel plants, coal mines, jute mills, engineering units and tea gardens did not function.

Claiming that no force was applied to make the strike a success, Mr Ghosh said workers in every sector, particularly in transport, participated in it on their own.

'' The strike was so spontaneous that there was no need to stage picketing anywhere. Nor was there anybody, who opposed it, '' he said.

The CITU state president said demand for power in Kolkata industrial area was 542 MW below normal as compared to other days.

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