THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bharat Bandh called by 10 central trade unions has entered its second day on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the strike evoked a mixed response as five states, including Kerala, Odisha and Assam, witnessed complete bandh, while sporadic incidents of violence were reported in West Bengal and Rajasthan. The bandh partly affected public life in most states and Union Territories. Trains were stopped in Kerala, while buses and autorickshaws were off the road, hitting normal life, according to reports. Workersfrom various sectors have extended support to the two-day strike.

The strike call covers banks, insurance, post offices, BSNL, state transport, railways, port trust, defence and other PSUs, central-state government undertakings, municipal workers, anganwadi staffers, hawkers and others comprising 250 million people.
Cheques worth about Rs 20,000 crore could not be cleared by the clearing houses all over the country yesterday, AIBEA General Secretary C H Vekatchalam claimed.
Banking services partially affected as a section of PSU bank employees came in support of the nation-wide strike.
All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) and Bank Employees' Federation of India (BEFI) have supported the strike. A treasury branch of the State Bank of India here was attacked and trains were blocked in various parts of Kerala. The branch manager said a group of people came to his cabin at around 10 am and threatened the staff, damaged a glass table top and a computer. At the Thiruvananthapuram railway station, Thiruvananthapuram-Hyderabad Sabari Express and Venad Express were blocked, while the Kottayam-Nilambur passenger train in Kalamassery was held up for a while.
Trains stopped by protesters in TN, banking services hit Chennai and Hyderabad : Trains were stopped by protesters at a few places in Tamil Nadu and banking services in some public sector banks interrupted in Telangana but life largely remained unaffected Wednesday during the second day of the two-day nationwide stir called by 10 central trade unions, reported PTI.
In Chennai, protests were held at Mount Road and Perambur and Guindy railway stations.
Similar protests were held in front of Madurai railway station and near the old bus-stand in Thanjavur district and Tiruchirappalli station affecting movement of vehicles and rail traffic. Police said no incidents of violence were reported.
Offices, commercial establishments and educational institutions functioned normally.
Buses, tourist taxis go off roads in Goa Panaji: Normal life was affected in Goa as private buses and tourist taxis remained off roads.
To mitigate the woes of passengers, the state-run Kadamba Transport Corporation was operating 800 additional bus services, a senior official of the corporation said.

Some people living on islands in the coastal state also faced problems as ferry boat services run by the government's river navigation department remained shut.