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Trade takes a holiday on bandh day

Our Bureau

CHENNAI, July 2

THE 12-hour State-wide bandh called by the National Democratic Alliance to protest the arrest of the former chief minister and DMK President, Mr M. Karunanidhi, passed off peacefully today. Apart from sporadic incidents of stone-throwing and attempts to block traffic, no untoward incidents were reported.

In Chennai as well as in other parts of the State, shops and business establishments did not open during the day. However, factories reported normal functioning. Most educational institutions declared a holiday. Attendance in some commercial establishmen ts was affected but operations were normal.

According to trade union sources, major industrial establishments carried on normal operations while some of the small-scale units in the various industrial estates in Chennai had declared a holiday. In the city, most shops were closed.

At the Madras Export Processing Zone, attendance was severely affected because of the low frequency of buses early in the morning. At least 40 per cent of the workforce did not turn up and many units decided to close for the day, according to MEPZ manufa cturers.

At Ambattur and Padi, on the outskirts of Chennai where a large number of industrial units are located, while large units like that of the TVS and Murugappa groups were functioning, some major garment units with a predominantly female workforce had downe d shutters. There was a mixed response from smaller units with some of them being closed and others operating with reduced attendance.

The situation was similar in the industrial belt in the northern part of the city. Larger companies like National Carbon and the public sector Madras Fertilizers Ltd were open. But in many units, attendance was lower than normal, said sources.

Pic.: YAWN! Police personnel take a break in a shopping complex in Chennai during the bandh on Monday after a couple of days of hectic political activity.

Picture by Shaju John