Nationwide strike fails to evoke much response in Tripura

AGARTALA, March 28 (PTI): The two-day nationwide strike called by major trade unions to protest against the Central government’s alleged wrong policies failed to evoke much response in the BJP-ruled Tripura on Monday, the first day of the stir, officials said.
Attendance in government offices and educational institutions was normal. Private schools, however, remained shut citing the safety of the students in the wake of the strike.
Vehicles were seen plying on roads while train services and flight operations were normal.
Banks, financial institutions, markets and business establishments remained open in Agartala, the state capital.
“Life was normal across the state despite the strike. There was no detention or campaign in favour of the bandh in the state capital or elsewhere,” a senior police officer said.
Earlier, the Tripura government had said its offices will remain open on Monday and Tuesday. The state authorities also mandated the employees to report for duty on these two days.
“Any exception to the government order will be viewed seriously,” a government notification issued on Saturday night read.
A joint forum of central trade unions has given the call for a nationwide strike on March 28 and 29 to protest against the government policies that are allegedly affecting workers, farmers, and people.
Their demands include the scrapping of the labour codes, no privatisation of any form, scrapping of the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), increased allocation of wages under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and regularisation of contract workers among others.
The central trade unions that are part of this joint forum are INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, TUCC, SEWA, AICCTU, LPF and UTUC.