Strike evokes partial response in Jharkhand

Normal life was partially hit in Jharkhand in response to the nation-wide strike called by ten central trade unions.
Shops, educational institutions and markets were open while vehicles plied on the roads.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Palamau (Range) Saket Kumar Singh said no untoward incident has been reported.
While trade union leaders claimed that that the bandh disrupted work in collieries, mining officials said they would assess the impact of the strike in the afternoon.
"Employees of the first shift have gone to the underground mines in the morning itself. We have to see the second shift," an official with the Bharat Coking Coal Limited in Dhanbad said.

A senior officer with the Central Coalfield Limited in Ranchi said, "Outsourcing work is fine. We can give details only after 4 pm."

The coordinator of the ten-union joint front, A K Jha, said the strike "completely" affected transportation and production in the colliery areas.
Bokaro Steel Plant's Chief of Communication, Sanjay Tiwari, claimed that the strike did not have any affect and work was normal.
However, INTUC's National General Secretary Rajendra Prasad Singh claimed that the entire coal belt has been hit by the strike.
"Even the banking sector has been hit by the strike", Singh claimed.
All India Bank Employees Association (Jharkhand unit) President, R A Singh, said that barring the State Bank of India and private banks, 1,600 bank branches and 1,200 ATMs in the state remained closed.

Bank officials were not available for their reaction.
Jharkhand Truck Owners Association president Uday Shankar Ojha said they have given moral support to the strike.
President of Jamshedpur-based Adityapur Small Industries Association President Inder Agarwal said 90 per cent of the around 1,000 industrial units in the area were functioning normally.
Police said some bandh supporters had hit the streets at Gamaria in East Singhbhum district and put up road blockade.