GUWAHATI, Feb 20 � The first day of the nation wide strike, call for which was given by 11 trade unions of the country against the Centre�s economic policies, including the failure of the Government to check price rise, evoked mixed response in Assam and no untoward incident was reported from any part of the State.
Most of the educational institutions remained closed, while banks and financial institutions also did not function throughout the day. Attendance in Government offices was very thin as the people had problems in reaching their offices.
Though a majority of shops remained closed in the morning hours, they started opening as the day progressed. The city buses and trekkers stayed off the roads for most part of the day and only a handful of such vehicles appeared on the roads towards the evening. Though the auto rickshaws plied as usual, they could not take the load of the heavy rush.
The train services were affected due to the strike though the head office of the NF Railway functioned normally. Railway sources said that though no train leaving Guwahati today was cancelled, most of the passenger trains were delayed. In the morning hours, the picketers squatted on the tracks in the Guwahati railway station, which delayed several trains. Train service could start only after the police cleared the tracks. Similarly, picketers squatted on the tracks in other parts of the State also, which delayed the trains.
However, Railway sources said that as the strike was observed throughout the country, the delay in train running would have a cascading effect on train services and it might take a few days to normalize the situation.
Meanwhile, in a release here today, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said that the strike received widespread support from the people of Assam. The release stated that all the commercial vehicles, including trucks and buses stayed off the roads and train services were affected because of picketing by the strike supporters.
The release said that the police arrested over a thousand picketers from different parts of the state. The CITU thanked the people for extending support to the strike and appealed to all sections of people to continue supporting the agitation tomorrow.
