Protesters destroy cars, damage factories in India violence

PanARMENIAN.Net - Protesting workers destroyed vehicles and damaged factories near the Indian capital, New Delhi, on Wednesday, February 20 at the beginning of a two-day strike called by major trade unions over high prices, Reuters said.

About 400 striking workers threw stones at factories in the industrial hub of Noida, about 16 km (10 miles) east of the capital, to force them to close, a Reuters witness said.

Police baton-charged the workers to stop the violence. Seven cars and the fire truck were burnt out and a dozen cars smashed up.

Violence erupted elsewhere in the country as workers, angry about high fuel prices in particular, tried to keep vehicles off the roads. One union member was killed in the northern city of Ambala, media said.

Offices and factories were shut in many places and transport was disrupted. However, New Delhi and the business center, Mumbai, were mostly unaffected and financial markets were open.

The strike comes as the beleaguered government prepares to present an austerity budget to parliament and as it weathers a corruption scandal in a big arms deal.