The Bharat Bandh or nationwide strike called by a joint forum of central trade unions entered its second day on Tuesday, March 29. The trade unions are protesting against the Union government’s policies, which they said are affecting farmers, workers and people. Apart from trade unions, independent sectoral federations and workers’ associations are also part of the protest. Rising fuel prices, new labour laws, reduced rate of interest on the Employees Provident Fund, are some of the demands of the protest.
In Tamil Nadu, public movement and transport remained largely unaffected by tha bandh on Tuesday. About 90% of the government buses were operated and travel for office-goers, workers, students and others was not affected, according to the Transport Department. It added that around 17,268 buses are being operated across the state on Tuesday. Shops also largely remained open and functioned as usual.
On March 28, Natarajan, the Treasurer of the Labour Progressive Federation, which is affiliated to the DMK, had said, “Considering the plight of students and office-goers, buses will be operated normally in Chennai.” Around 98% of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses were running in Chennai as of Tuesday morning. Auto rickshaws and cabs were also plying, so were sub-urban, EMU and metro rail trains.
"The local trains witnessed long queues on Monday. It was so crowded that there were people sitting on the footboards, risking their lives. As promised, normalcy has returned," said a passenger at Chrompet railway station.
In Puducherry, private bus associations have expressed complete solidarity with the protesting central trade unions. Around 1000 police officials have been deployed along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry route, considering the safety of the passengers, they said.