Normal life was thrown out of gear in the industrial Jharsuguda district on Friday due to the Bharat Bandh called by the major central trade unions to protest against alleged anti-labour policies by the NDA-led Government at the Centre.
BMS workers were not part of the strike, sources said.
Ib Valley Coalfields OCMS regional secretary Bijesh Sharma said that about 2,900 workers of Orient, 1,900 workers of lakhanpur, 1,600 workers of Ib Valley and 150 workers of Central Workshop joined the protest.
Essential services such as banking, business and public transport were completely disrupted with commuters stranded for hours in Jharsuguda, Brajrajnagar and Belpahar. Police presence was seen at most of the important district intersections. Coal production and dispatch were hit hard at five opencast and three underground mines in Brajrajnagar, Belpahar and Bandhbahal as workers stayed away from work.
When contacted, lakhanpur Area General Manager MG Brahmapur said that due to the strike in lakhanpur, Ib Valley and Orient Area of MCl, there was a loss of production of estimated 1.07 lakh tonne coal and 24 rakes of coal could not be dispatched to the power plants.