Strike cripples life in West Bengal, Tripura

The 24-hour industrial strike today paralysed the Left-ruled states of West Bengal and Tripura and affected life elsewhere in the eastern region, barring most of the North Eastern states.     

Additional policemen and Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in Kolkata to maintain law and order, though the situation was totally peaceful, Inspector General (Law and Order), Raj Kanojia told PTI.     

The protesters did not spare the IT sector in Salt Lake here from the purview of the strike. Local CPI-M MP Amitava Nandi said, "Nowhere in the country is the sector kept out of the purview of the strike."     

Train and air services were disrupted in the state, while public transport was off the roads.     

The picture was also the same in Tripura, the other left-ruled state in the region with government offices, banks, public sector undertakings like ONGC and GailL India Ltd recording no attendance.     

In Bihar, five left parties called a simultaneous bandh, which severely hit banking services across the state, though offices of the state government and undertakings were largely unaffected.     

Air and rail services were normal in the state.     

In BJD-BJP ruled Orissa, markets and business establishments were closed, with public transport off the roads in Bhubaneswar. Cuttack and the steel city of Rourkela were, however, unaffected.