
Bharat bandh: Unions protest Modi government's anti-worker policies
The bandh was observed in Puducherry, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur. A partial strike was observed in Rajasthan, Haryana, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Industrial and sector-specific strikes were organised Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat.
General Secretary of AITUC, Amarjeet Kaur, told TNIE, "We expected participation from roughly 25 crore workers. The response has been overwhelming with a much higher number taking part both from the formal and informal sectors."
She added, "People are upset due to multiple issues including high price rise and loss of jobs and empathised with us completely. This has made us determined to go ahead with our next course of action which will be much bigger and in association with farmer organisations."
Workers and the police clashed in a few places in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu, with some protestors taken into preventive custody for a few hours and released.
"The rank and file of Samyukt Kisan Morcha and joint front of Agricultural Labour Unions played significant role in the mobilisation in rural India," said a joint statement released by the participating Unions (list of unions at the end).
Worker unions in Coal, NMDC, iron-ore, Copper, Bauxite and Aluminium, Steel and Gold mines also took part. Employees in Banks, LIC, GIC, Petroleum, Electricity, Post offices, Grameen Dak Sevaks, Telecom, Atomic Energy, Cement, Port & Dock Tea plantations and Jute Mills protested.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Cops arrest Kendrapara girl's boyfriend, find 50 videos in his mobile phone
KENDRAPARA/BHUBANESWAR: Kendrapara police on Sunday arrested the alleged boyfriend of the 20-year-old college student whose charred body was recovered from her house in a village under Pattamundai Rural police limits five days back. Twenty-five-year-old Pramod Behera, of Terohi village, was charged with abetment of suicide, as he had threatened to blackmail the girl by sharing her intimate photographs and videos with many persons, including her father. Initially, police had registered a case of unnatural death in this regard. On Saturday, the father of the victim lodged an FIR at the Pattamundai Rural police station, alleging his daughter set herself ablaze as the accused threatened to blackmail her. Acting on the complaint, police launched an investigation. During the probe, police recovered more than 50 objectionable videos of the girl from Pramod's mobile phone. The accused had reportedly made those videos viral and sent them to the girl's father and four to five other villagers on July 17. 'The accused had called the girl over the phone at about 7.30 am on Wednesday, minutes before the incident,' Kendrapara SP Siddharth Kataria told TNIE. Examination of Pramod's call records indicated that he had been in contact with the girl for over the last year. He has been booked under sections 296 (obscene acts), 75 (sexual harassment), 78 (stalking) and 108 (abetment of suicide) under BNS and sections 66(E), 67, 67(A) of Information and Technology Act, said Kataria. The victim was a Plus III final-year student with political science as her major. She had also appeared in the semester examination on Tuesday, a day before she ended her life.


New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
'Good town planning is backbone of liveable city', says Tushar Girinath
Infrastructure bottlenecks and governance gridlocks hobble Bengaluru's long, arduous trek to be a nerve centre of creativity and the beating heart of modern India. The city needs pace; it also needs peace. Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath, a technocrat who has seen from close quarters the rapid growth of the megapolis, in an interaction with TNIE says, contrary to widespread criticism, the tunnel road project connecting Hebbal to Central Silk Board is an idea whose time has come, while putting a plethora of administrative challenges in perspective. Excerpts: There's criticism that the government is rushing the tunnel road project without proper consultation. Why the hurry? There's no hurry. Bengaluru's roads are choking. The average speed across the city has dropped to what experts classify as Grade F — the worst possible level. Whether it's elevated corridors or tunnel roads, both are on the table because the number of vehicles almost equals our population. Any project, whichever one you pick, will take four to five years to materialise. Of course, every big project will have pros and cons. But this isn't being done in a vacuum. We've worked with mobility experts, followed the prescribed circulation studies, and consulted plans before moving ahead. Have scientific studies been done before pushing the tunnel road project? Yes, studies have been done, including soil studies and detailed traffic assessments. Since this is a toll-based project, financial projections had to be worked out carefully. We're using a modified BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, Transfer) model, where the private party invests its own money upfront and recovers it through toll collection. The government only provides the Viability Gap Support. While some say we're hurrying, within the government, there's concern that we've taken too long, that there's been too much back-and-forth and too little movement. Several studies, including one by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), suggest tunnel roads could be a disaster for Bengaluru. That study is not the official view of IISc. It's the opinion of one professor. IISc professors work independently, and they're free to share their thoughts. If someone points out a mistake, we're ready to look into it and make changes. But just saying 'don't do this' without giving any workable solution doesn't help. Take elevated roads — they sound good in theory. Even I was in favour of them earlier. But our roads are narrow and uneven — they go from four lanes to three in many places. If we start building pillars there, traffic will come to a total stop. That's why we're looking at tunnel roads only in the most congested spots. Yes, some underpasses in the world don't work well — but many do.


New Indian Express
6 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Karuvelam blocks water to lakes in Tiruchy, farmers upset
TIRUCHY: More than 25 waterbodies, including the Panjappur, Kothamangalam, and Prattiyur lakes within city limits, and in Thiruverumbur taluk, that serve as irrigation source for farm lands are blocked by seemai karuvelam (Prosopis juliflora) trees and water hyacinth. With desilting of C and D channels currently underway, farmers have urged the state government to to clean these lakes on priority before the onset of monsoon. The Uyyakondan canal which branches off from the Cauvery river near Pettaivaithalai irrigates around 32,000 acres in Tiruchy and Thanjavur districts. The canal also feeds most of the waterbodies in and around the city which together irrigate about 15,000 acres of farm lands. Ayilai Sivasuriyan, district secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, said the lakes not only support thousands of acres of farmland but also help recharge the groundwater. 'Several lakes and their source channels are overrun by seemai karuvelam trees, hyacinth, and other vegetation, blocking water flow. The water resources department has shown no interest in clearing them unlike irrigation channels. A few years ago, the court intervened and ordered the removal of prosopis juliflora trees following which the government machinery worked in full swing. Now, nobody cares,' he alleged. Farmers recalled that the previous AIADMK regime had announced the kudimaramathu Scheme to desilt lakes and ponds. But the current government has allegedly abandoned it. During his campaign in Omalur, Salem district, on Saturday, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said the scheme would be revived if the party returns to power in 2026. When contacted, executive engineer of the river conservation division, A Nithyanantham, told TNIE that they periodically remove trees and other vegetation from water channels. 'If any individual or private party approaches us, we allow them to cut the trees for their own use,' he said. He also assured that action would be taken to clear the vegetation to ensure free water flow.