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Strike turns violent in UP, vehicles set on fire in Noida

[email protected] (PTI)
February 20, 2013

Fire_Service

Lucknow, Feb 20: The two-day nationwide strike called by Central trade unions disrupted normal life in many states on Wednesday leaving commuters in the lurch.

Violence erupted in some places on the first day of a two-day strike as workers, angry about high fuel prices in particular, tried to keep vehicles off the roads.

The strike turned violent in Noida in Uttar Pradesh, adjoining Delhi, after angry workers protested in Noida Phase II. They pelted stones at some factories and burnt vehicles, including a fire engine. The police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the restive crowd.

The two-day nationwide strike called by trade unions in support of their demands evoked a good response in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. Roadways buses remained off roads and bank branches were closed in support of the strike call, adversely affecting normal life since morning.

Reports from different parts of the state said employees of various government departments and banks assembled at their respective offices and held protest meetings raising slogans in support of their demands.

Commuters were left stranded, and overcrowding was reported at railway stations. Following this, the state government pressed 200 buses into service at the Kumbh in Allahabad.

The state government had made alternative arrangements like pressing private buses into service, but these were not enough to clear the office rush and people had to depend either on private vehicles or autorickshaws to reach their destinations.

In the state capital, all the major offices have remained shut with employees also taking out protest marches.

The bandh was total in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida, Kanpur, Varanasi, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Unnao, Moradabad and Allahabad.

Major markets in Lucknow like Aminabad and Hazratganj were deserted, and operations at post offices and state-run banks were disrupted.

Banking, transport services hit

Normal banking operations were hit today as employees of public sector banks went on a two-day strike in response to a call given by central trade unions to press for wage hike in the backdrop of rising inflation.

The nationwide strike call has been given by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), consisting of nine national level unions, including AIBEA, NCBE, BEFI, INBEF, NOBW and AIBOC.

Apprehending disruption in their normal banking operations, many banks had already informed their customers about the proposed strike.

Meanwhile, sources said, banks have taken steps to ensure that public do not face problems at least on the cash front during the strike period.

Banks have fed additional cash in ATMs to meet the cash needs of their customers.

Bank unions are pressing for early wage revision of employees, which they said is due from November 2012. They are also opposing banking sector reforms and any plan for merger of banks.

There are 26 public sector banks with employees strength of around 10 lakh.

In December 2012 also, four bank unions went on strike opposing amendments carried out in Banking Regulation Act and Banking Companies Act, enabling foreign equity in public sector banks.

The bank strike is part of a general strike call given by 11 central trade unions including Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh ( BMS), Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and All India United Trade Union Centre.

Trade union leader killed in Ambala

A trade union leader, who was squatting along with a group of workers near the local bus depot as part of the two-day nationwide strike call, on Wednesday died when he was hit by a bus in his bid to stop it from plying, a senior Roadways official said here.

"The incident took place around 4 am this morning when Narender Singh, a bus driver by profession, tried to stop the vehicle which was being taken out from the Ambala Depot despite the strike," district president, Haryana Roadways Workers Union's, Inder Singh Bhadana told reporters here.

Bhadana alleged that the district administration tried to forcibly ply the bus, which hit Singh, who was also the treasurer of a AITUC union, killing him on the spot.

After the incident, the other workers resorted to violence damaging vehicles belonging to the Ambala's Deputy Commissioner of Police and SHO of the Baldev police station area, police said.

Meanwhile, Bhadana demanded a case to be lodged against the General Manager of the Roadways, failing which they will not allow the body to be cremated.

In view of the tense situation, heavy police force had been deployed at the bus depot and its surrounding areas.

Earlier, however, AITUC general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said that the victim was allegedly stabbed to death by some miscreants.

Financial sector crippled as shutdown starts in Mumbai

India's financial sector was crippled on Wednesday after all banks, insurance companies and commercial establishments in this commercial capital remained shut on the first of the two-day nationwide strike, organisers said.

"The banking and financial sector is 100 percent closed, not only in Mumbai and Maharashtra but all over the country," All India Bank Employees Association vice-president V Utagi told IANS.

Utagi said all banks -- nationalised, private, foreign, regional, rural and cooperative -- had "wholeheartedly" participated in the strike.

Trains, road services hit in Bihar

Thousands of people were stranded across Bihar on Wednesday as trains were stopped and key highways blocked by activists affiliated to various trade unions that have called for a nationwide two-day strike.

Workers of trade unions stopped nearly a dozen passenger and long-distance trains at Patna, Gaya, Jehanabad, Hajipur, Bhagalpur and Darbhanga railway stations.

Strike hits normal life in Kerala

The 48-hour nationwide strike called by central trade unions hit normal life across Kerala today with workers from varied sectors, including transport and banking, staying away from work to protest the UPA government's economic and labour policies.

Early reports said buses and taxis were off the roads and shops and restaurants remained closed. Train services were not affected.

The Congress-led UDF government has declared 'dies non' (no work, no pay) as pro-Left service and teachers unions are also striking work.

Security has been tightened and no violence has been reported from anywhere. Police have offered protection to those willing to work and public conveyances ready to ply, police sources said.

West Bengal partially hit by strike

Life was partially affected in West Bengal on the first day today of the two-day countrywide strike called by central trade unions with the situation remaining peaceful.

Shops, markets and business establishments were closed in many parts of the metropolis, while government run buses and trams ran in large numbers in comparison to private buses and taxis, which were less.

Banking operations remained paralysed in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that attendance at the Writers' Buildings was 100 per cent.

Finance Mitra Amit Mitra also said that his department registered 100 per cent attendance.

Many government employees stayed overnight in their offices.

Partial impact to strike call in Tamil Nadu

The strike call given by 11 trade unions country wide had partial impact in Tamil Nadu as a majority of shops remained open and transport services plied normally.

However, banking services were hit hard as most public and private sector banks remained closed.

The United Form of Bank Unions, an association representing the banking community, had said it would join the strike call given by the Trade Unions.

City buses and auto-rickshaws plied as usual. Partial inter-city services were operated from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, sources said.

Members of agitating workers union including CITU and all India Bank Employees Association staged a demonstration in Chennai as part of the strike call.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: About 56 per cent of children were found to have no access to smartphones which have emerged as essential tools for online learning during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to a new study that surveyed 42,831 students at various school levels.

The study ''Scenario amidst COVID 19 - Onground Situations and Possible Solutions'' was conducted by child rights NGO Smile Foundation with an aim of analysing the access to technology.

The findings of the study showed that 43.99 per cent of surveyed children have access to smartphones and another 43.99 per cent of students have access to basic phones while 12.02 per cent do not have access to either smartphones or basic phones.

A total of 56.01 per cent children were found to have no access to smartphones, the study said.

"Concerning television, it was noted that while 68.99 per cent have access to TV, a major chunk of 31.01 per cent does not. Hence suggesting that using smartphone interventions for enhancing learning outcomes is not the only solution," it said.

At the primary level of education (class 1 to 5) 19,576 children were surveyed while at upper primary level (class 6 to 8) 12,277 children were surveyed. At secondary level of education (class 9 to 10) 5,537 children were surveyed and at higher secondary level (class 11 to 12) 3,216 children were surveyed.

The survey based on which the study was conducted used two approaches - over the telephone wherein the NGO reached out to the children whose database it already had -- students enrolled in various education centres of the NGO -- and second was through community mobilization wherein community workers went door to door to get answers.

The survey was conducted in 23 states, including Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, over a period of 12 days from April 16 to April 28.

The lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in March prompted schools and colleges to move to the virtual world for teaching and learning activities. However, many experts say the digital divide in the country may turn online classes into an operational nightmare.

As per official statistics, there are over 35 crore students in the country. However, it is not clear as to how many of them have access to digital devices and Internet.

Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee, Smile Foundation, said the findings clearly show that the digital divide is a real challenge, and multiple approaches need to be implemented to cater to all across the nation.

"As an exercise before we start any programme, we do a baseline study to understand the on-ground challenges so that our programmes can bring in real work and real change. With the onset of the pandemic, following indefinite school closures, it is more important than ever to understand the situation and how can we ensure that children are given quality education. Through this, we understand that customized modules need to be built in accordance with the channel of communication," he said.  

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News Network
February 29,2020

New Delhi, Feb 29: The father of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, whose body was pulled out of a drain in northeast Delhi's riot-hit Chand Bagh, complained to police that goons had assembled at the residence of former AAP counselor Tahir Hussain and were throwing petrol bombs from the rooftop.

According to the FIR which was registered on Thursday on the basis of the complaint lodged by Ankit's father Ravinder, the goons were also firing from the rooftop.

On Tuesday, Ankit returned from his office at 5 pm and then went outside to buy groceries. When he did not return, the family started looking for him and later filed a missing report, the FIR stated.

They got to know from their neighbours that a body has been recovered from a drain… later it was found to be that of Anikt, it said, adding the body had multiple stab injuries on the face, head, back, and chest.

The family has alleged in the FIR that it was Hussain and the goons at his residence who killed Ankit. In the FIR, Hussain has been accused of murder, destruction of evidence and abduction.

Soon after the FIR was registered on Thursday, the AAP suspended Tahir Hussain from the primary membership of the party till the police completed its probe.

The death toll in Delhi's communal violence rose to 42 on Friday as the situation showed some signs of returning to normalcy and clouds of smoke cleared to reveal the extent of the damage from the worst riots in the city in over three decades.

A total of 148 FIRs have been registered and 630 people have been either arrested or detained so far in connection with the communal violence, a Delhi Police spokesperson said.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Srinagar, Mar 7: Two more accused, including a man who allegedly bought chemicals online for making improvised explosive device (IED) to be used in an attack on a convoy of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama last year, were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday, an official said.

The terror attack left 40 CRPF personnel dead in south Kashmir's Pulwama last year.

Waiz-ul-Islam, 19, from Srinagar and Mohammad Abbass Rather, 32, from Pulwama were arrested by the NIA, taking the number of those arrested in the case in the past week to five.

"During initial interrogation, Islam disclosed that he used his Amazon online shopping account to procure chemicals for making IEDs, batteries and other accessories on the directions of Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists," the official said.

He said Islam personally delivered the items to the JeM terrorists after buying them online as a part of the conspiracy to carry out the attack.

"Rather is an old overground worker of the JeM. He has disclosed that he gave shelter at his home to Jaish terrorist and IED expert Mohd Umar after he came to Kashmir in April-May 2018," the official said.

Rather also sheltered other JeM terrorists - suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar, Sameer Ahmed Dar and Kamran, a Pakistani -- at his house before the Pulwama attack, the official said.

"He also facilitated safe shelter for the JeM terrorists, including Adil, at the house of accused Tariq Ahmed Shah and his daughter Insha Jan of Hakripora, who were arrested on March 3," the official said.

He said Islam and Rather will be produced before the NIA special court in Jammu on Saturday, while further investigation in the case continues. The NIA took over the case to probe the conspiracy behind the February 14, 2019, attack in Pulwama.

The last video of Adil, which was released by the JeM from Pakistan after the terror attack, was filmed at the home of Tariq Ahmed Shah. On February 28, the NIA achieved a major breakthrough in the case when it arrested 22-year-old Shakir Bashir Magrey, a furniture shop owner and resident of Pulwama.

Magrey had given shelter and other logistical assistance to suicide bomber Adil. He was introduced to Adil in mid-2018 by Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq and he became a full-time OGW of the JeM.

The explosives used in the attack were determined through forensic probe to be ammonium nitrate, nitro-glycerin and RDX. During investigation into the attack, the identity of the suicide bomber to be Adil Ahmad Dar was confirmed through DNA matching with that of his father.

The other key terrorists involved in the attack have been found to be JeM's south Kashmir divisional head Muddasir Ahmad Khan, killed in an operation by the security forces on March 11 last year; Pakistani terrorists Muhammad Umar Farooq and IED expert Kamran, both killed on March 29 last year; the owner of the car Sajjad Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Anantnag who was killed on June 16 last year, and Qari Yassir, JeM's commander for Kashmir who was killed on January 25 this year.

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