Shutdown hits commuters in Himachal

A shutdown called by trade unions against the central government's economic measures on Wednesday hit commuters most as over 2,000 state roadways buses in Himachal Pradesh went off the roads.

Private bus and taxi operators also joined the strike.

However, government offices and educational institutions functioned normally.

The impact of the strike was more in major towns like Shimla, Rampur, Theog, Solan, Mandi, Nahan, Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Dharamsala, Palampur, Kangra, Kullu and Manali.

Banks, both private and nationalised, excluding the State Bank of India (SBI), and insurance companies were closed across the state as employees joined the nationwide strike.

Some private hotels in Shimla were shut as employees struck work.

Rail and road traffic, however, was unaffected.

An official of the Himachal Road Transport Corp said more than 250 inter-state routes were badly hit due to the strike.

"The supply of milk to the state from Punjab was affected," a police official told IANS here.

Employees of more than 18,000 'anganwadi' (child day care) centres also joined the strike.