Bharat Bandh hits services across India; 10 key updates from major cities
A nation-wide Bharat Bandh is being observed today, which has been called by a coalition of ten central trade unions alongside farmers' and rural workers’ organisations. Over 25 crore workers, including those from banking, insurance, postal services, coal mining, and state transport, protested across the country to oppose what they term “antiworker, antifarmer and pro-corporate” policies.
Key sectors impacted
Banking & insurance: Both public sector and cooperative bank employees joined the strike—cheque clearance, cash transactions, and branch operations were disrupted, with Gujarat alone seeing roughly 20,000 bank staff off duty.
Postal services & PSUs: Nationwide slowdown affected postal deliveries and operations in public sector units .
State-run transport: Bus, rail, and highway services saw disruptions—some highways were blocked and train schedules delayed.
Coal & Power: An estimated 2.7 million (27 lakh) power sector workers participated. While a full blackout wasn’t expected, localised outages were possible.
Industrial production: Coal mining and factory activities were halted or slowed.
Read more: Bharat Bandh update: Bengaluru braces for traffic snarls as protests erupt at Freedom Park; routes to avoid
Governments and railways
Railways: Only indirect impact anticipated. No formal strike, but track blockages and station demonstrations occurred in Bengal and Bihar.
State governments: In Kolkata, public transport, buses, ferries, trams, and metro operated normally; 5,000 police personnel were deployed.
What’s open
Schools & colleges: Nearly all educational institutions remained open, though localised disruptions were possible .
Private offices: Most continued operations with minimal disruption.
Emergency services: Hospitals, police stations, and fire departments remained fully functional.
Cities & regions affected Read more: 9 offbeat destinations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala serving serious Western Ghat vibes
Key takeaways
With schools remaining open and essential services running,banking, transport, coal, and power sectors saw substantial disruptions, particularly in hotspot regions across Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gujarat, Odisha, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
Banking & insurance: Both public sector and cooperative bank employees joined the strike—cheque clearance, cash transactions, and branch operations were disrupted, with Gujarat alone seeing roughly 20,000 bank staff off duty.
Postal services & PSUs: Nationwide slowdown affected postal deliveries and operations in public sector units .
State-run transport: Bus, rail, and highway services saw disruptions—some highways were blocked and train schedules delayed.
Coal & Power: An estimated 2.7 million (27 lakh) power sector workers participated. While a full blackout wasn’t expected, localised outages were possible.
Industrial production: Coal mining and factory activities were halted or slowed.
Read more: Bharat Bandh update: Bengaluru braces for traffic snarls as protests erupt at Freedom Park; routes to avoid
Governments and railways
Railways: Only indirect impact anticipated. No formal strike, but track blockages and station demonstrations occurred in Bengal and Bihar.
State governments: In Kolkata, public transport, buses, ferries, trams, and metro operated normally; 5,000 police personnel were deployed.
Schools & colleges: Nearly all educational institutions remained open, though localised disruptions were possible .
Private offices: Most continued operations with minimal disruption.
Emergency services: Hospitals, police stations, and fire departments remained fully functional.
Cities & regions affected Read more: 9 offbeat destinations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala serving serious Western Ghat vibes
Key takeaways
- Over 25 crore workers joined a one-day general strike against government policies.
- Ten major central trade unions spearheaded the protest: INTUC, AITUC, CITU, HMS, SEWA, AIUTUC, TUCC, AICCTU, LPF, UTUC.
- Top grievances include new labour laws, privatisation of PSUs, job insecurity, and farmer distress.
- Bang on strike union demands include a 17point charter and reinstatement of annual labour conferences.
- Banking disruptions widespread; Gujarat impacted heavily, with crores of transactions affected.
- Transport chaos: highway blockades (Odisha), track disruptions (Bengal), metro/bus delays in urban centres .
- Power sector hit with 27 lakh workers participating; minor outages possible.
- Public transport in some cities operated normally (e.g., Kerala, Kolkata), aided by extra deployments.
- Schools, colleges & private offices generally open, though some regions (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry) saw closures.
- Emergency services such as hospitals, police, and fire remained fully operational.
With schools remaining open and essential services running,banking, transport, coal, and power sectors saw substantial disruptions, particularly in hotspot regions across Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gujarat, Odisha, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
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