By IANS,
Kolkata: People in Kolkata stood divided on the utility of strikes as a form of protest Tuesday, the day such an agitation by the ruling Left parties against price rise paralysed the state.
Kurush Grant, chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry Eastern Region, said such agitations lead to significant losses not only for the organised industry, but also for thousands of micro-entrepreneurs.
“Bandhs are avoidable, specially when there is a strong effort to attract investments into the region. They lead to significant losses, not only for organised industry, but also for thousands of micro entrepreneurs. All stakeholders should align together to ensure higher growth and prosperity for this region,” Grant said.
Samir Biswas, who owns a small grocery shop at Bhowanipore in South Kolkata, said he was also hit by the escalating prices, but was not sure whether strikes were a solution.
“Tomorrow, how will I fork out the money to purchase goods from the wholesaler? We are small businessmen. We buy our goods daily with the money we earned the day before. But today I could not open my shop till the evening. Nobody seems to care for us.”
Sandip Mandol, an employee in a private bank, felt strikes lead the society nowhere.
“I really don’t know when this strike politics will end in this country. We have seen enough strikes since our childhood and we all know this leads nowhere. We are criticised abroad for strikes,” Mandol told IANS.
Rabi Guha, a retired person, said strikes and shutdowns have lost their relevance as people take these as extra holidays.
“Does this strike help anyone? Half of the people are even not aware of the reason for the strike. They just take it as another holiday. We should do some constructive work to support our causes rather than calling strikes,” Guha said.
But there were again those on the other side of the spectrum who felt such modes of protest were the last resort for the working classes to force the authorities to adopt pro-poor measures.
“By enforcing the strike, we can send a strong message to the authorities. When life comes to a stop, then only they understand how agitated people are,” said Sumit Majumdar, a vegetable seller.
Shankar Ghosh, a tea stall owner, echoed him. “Yes, we have suffered losses in our business today. But this is a short-time loss for long-time gains. This will force the government to change the direction of its policies.”
” The government seems to be serving the interests of the rich only. They better listen to the voice of the people now after today’s protests.”