Sabarimla: The general strike affected the pilgrims to the Sabarimla Lord Ayyappa shrine who were trying to reach Pamba base camp to begin their trek to the hil shrine. Supporters of the strike blocked trains in most parts of the state and private bus operators and state-run Kerala State Road Transport Corporation were also forced to remain off roads in face of massive protests.

Kerala: A section of traders in Kochi and Kozhikode opened shops defying the general strike that turned out to be a total shut down in most parts of Kerala. In Kochi, shops were opened in Broadway, one of the major shopping hubs in the city. However, the strike supporters did not allow traders to open shops in other parts of the city. Business was run as usual on the Sweet Street in Kozhikode with traders joining hands in keeping the strike supporters at bay.

Schools have been forced to shut down as the strike affects the public transport in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvarur District. Thiruvarur has a large majority of Left-wing supporters and the DMK union is lending its support to the national strike. About 2,000 autos were stopped and the private buses were not operated. School children and public are largely affected due to this two-day strike.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said that though the Trinamool Congress opposes the policies of the central government that the strike is supposed to protest, the state government is against bandhs and she would not allow disruption of normal life.

West Bengal transport minister Suvendu Adhikari had said the government would ensure 500 additional buses on the roads to counter the bandh.

“The strike is quite visible in Assam, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Manipur, Bihar, Rajasthan, Goa, Punjab, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Haryana — particularly in the targeted industrial areas and different mines,” Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), tells PTI.

AITUC general secretary Amarjeet Kaur tells PTI that Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ unions have expressed solidarity.

Patna: Several AITUC activists were seen staging a protest outside railway station shouting slogans against Modi led government.

In Bengaluru: Goons pelted stones at buses traveling from Sharada colony in Basaveshwaranagar to Majestic. A complaint has been filed at the Sheshadripuram police station.

Karnataka: BGS Vidyapeetha College in Mysuru displays a holiday sign on the gate, while conducting exams inside. Meanwhile, no buses were seen plying in Yadgir. Conductors and drivers seen relaxing reading papers.

Bengaluru: As bus services stop in the city in view of Bharat Bhandh, auto rickshaw demand has been increased.

Mumbai: 40 extra buses being run by state transport department in the view of an indefinite strike by BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport) over demands of implementation of the merger of the BEST budget with principal budget of the BMC, employee service residences etc

Tension in Asansol during the band called by the left trade unions against the anti people policy of the central government. SBSTC bus runned by Bengal government was allegedly ransacked by the supporters of trade unions .

Mumbai: Engineers, operators and linesmen of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), the state-run power distribution company, Mahagenco and Mahatransco are also on strike for two days, which could affect restoration of power cuts/outages, according to a report in Times of India.

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is not operating in the state, while train services have also been delayed and disrupted due to the bandh called by trade unions. According to initial reports, trains were blocked in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode.

Assam: The strike in Assam is not related to the trade unions. Here, the students' bodies of the north-eastern region have decided to observe a bandh in support of the call given by an influential students' union to protest the proposed Citizens Amendment Bill, 2016. According to guwahatiplus.com, some private educational institutions such as Sanskriti The Gurukul, Royal Global School and Don Bosco will remain closed today, while transport services may be hit.

The Shahpur-Mumbai Nasik Highway will be blocked from 11.30 onwards as the protestors are organizing a 'raasta roko.' Apart from this, several other national highways will be blocked after 11 am today, including prominent ones such as Charhoti highway and the Mumbai-Ahemedabad Highway.

BMRCL increase number of trips due to Bharat Bandh.

Farmers across the country under the aegis of the Left peasant wings would join the two-day nationwide general strike on January 8 and 9 called by central trade unions against the alleged repressive policies for workers adopted by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government.

In Delhi, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) members hold protest in Patparganj industrial area against privatisation of public and government sector and demanding minimum wages, social security among others

In West Bengal, Central Trade Union protests underway at Rupsa, Jaleswar and Datan in Bhadrak- Kharagpur railway section and Raghunathbari in Haldia railway section.

In Bengaluru, App-based cabs and airport taxis and Metro trains is operating as usual. IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Allahabad Bank and Karur Vysya Bank, among others, have informed BSE banking services are likely to be hit. Insurance and telecom sectors could take a hit as LIC, GIC and BSNL employees are participating in the strike.

In Odisha, Members of Central Trade Unions hold protests and block commuters in Bhubaneswar demanding minimum wages and social security schemes among others.

Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) buses will not ply from 5 am today (January 8) as nearly 35,000 workers are on strike after talks with the management failed on Friday evening. The BEST management has invoked MESMA (Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act), and the Industrial court has also restrained the union from going ahead with the strike. However, not a single bus has left the depots across Mumbai in the past five hours.

Police in Kolkata detain CPM workers protesting in support of 48-hour nationwide strike called by Central Trade Unions. Their demands include minimum wages and social security schemes among others.

In Assam, Central Trade Unions have called a two-day nationwide strike demanding minimum wages and social security schemes among others

While Kerala would also see bandh on the day, called by the Joint Trade Union Council, a platform of various trade unions, there is no information yet on whether educational institutions would be closed for the day.

In Odisha, all educational institutions would be closed in the wake of the bandh call. A statement issued by the state’s Higher Education Department confirmed the same. The decision was taken keeping in view the safety of students. Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has extended its support to the proposed strike.

CITU state president Anathalavattom Anandan said that the strike is being conducted to protest against the alleged anti-workers policies of Narendra Modi-led Centre.

Banking services across the country are also likely to be affected on January 8-9.