Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08KOLKATA131
2008-04-23 12:22:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Kolkata
Cable title:
RISING FOOD PRICES FOSTER STRIKES IN EAST INDIA
how-toVZCZCXRO5612 PP RUEHBI RUEHCI DE RUEHCI #0131 1141222 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P R 231222Z APR 08 FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1974 INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1851 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0860 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0855 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0574 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0102 RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2411
UNCLAS KOLKATA 000131
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAGR PGOV IN PTER
SUBJECT: RISING FOOD PRICES FOSTER STRIKES IN EAST INDIA
UNCLAS KOLKATA 000131
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAGR PGOV IN PTER
SUBJECT: RISING FOOD PRICES FOSTER STRIKES IN EAST INDIA
1. (U) The Trinamul Congress (TMC) and the Socialist Unity
Center of India - both part of the opposition in West Bengal --
called a 12-hour bandh (strike) on April 21 to protest rising
food prices. Public dissatisfaction has been building up with
recent reports that annual inflation has more than doubled in
2008 to reach a three-year high of 7.14 percent. A reported
April 20 Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) attack on TMC
leader Mamata Banerjee in the sensitive Nandigram area became an
additional reason for the strike call. Banerjee declared that
since the CPM is supporting India's ruling Congress Party at the
federal level, both Congress and the CPM were responsible for
the rise in prices.
2. (U) The strike impacted multiple sectors. The State
Election Commission extended the last date for the withdrawal of
nominations for the upcoming local elections (scheduled in May)
by a day. Calcutta University rescheduled examinations for
40,000 students due to the strike. Traffic on the streets was
sparse and train services from Howrah and Sealdah stations were
disrupted, with a number of trains cancelled in the morning as
bandh supporters blocked railway lines. Attendance in offices
was low overall, although the IT Sector in Sector V of Salt Lake
reported regular attendance of employees. No major violence
occurred and Banerjee called off the strike two hours early.
3. (U) Press reported that on April 19 Maoists in Jharkhand
killed two people by firing at trucks on a highway during
protests against rising food prices. The attack occurred in
Jharkhand's Seraikela Kharsawan district. One truck plunged
into a roadside ditch and the Maoists set it on fire. The
Maoists had called for strikes in Jharkhand, Orissa and West
Bengal to protest inflation.
JARDINE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAGR PGOV IN PTER
SUBJECT: RISING FOOD PRICES FOSTER STRIKES IN EAST INDIA
1. (U) The Trinamul Congress (TMC) and the Socialist Unity
Center of India - both part of the opposition in West Bengal --
called a 12-hour bandh (strike) on April 21 to protest rising
food prices. Public dissatisfaction has been building up with
recent reports that annual inflation has more than doubled in
2008 to reach a three-year high of 7.14 percent. A reported
April 20 Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) attack on TMC
leader Mamata Banerjee in the sensitive Nandigram area became an
additional reason for the strike call. Banerjee declared that
since the CPM is supporting India's ruling Congress Party at the
federal level, both Congress and the CPM were responsible for
the rise in prices.
2. (U) The strike impacted multiple sectors. The State
Election Commission extended the last date for the withdrawal of
nominations for the upcoming local elections (scheduled in May)
by a day. Calcutta University rescheduled examinations for
40,000 students due to the strike. Traffic on the streets was
sparse and train services from Howrah and Sealdah stations were
disrupted, with a number of trains cancelled in the morning as
bandh supporters blocked railway lines. Attendance in offices
was low overall, although the IT Sector in Sector V of Salt Lake
reported regular attendance of employees. No major violence
occurred and Banerjee called off the strike two hours early.
3. (U) Press reported that on April 19 Maoists in Jharkhand
killed two people by firing at trucks on a highway during
protests against rising food prices. The attack occurred in
Jharkhand's Seraikela Kharsawan district. One truck plunged
into a roadside ditch and the Maoists set it on fire. The
Maoists had called for strikes in Jharkhand, Orissa and West
Bengal to protest inflation.
JARDINE