NEW DELHI , 30 September 2005— Thousands of striking airport and bank workers held protests against economic reforms yesterday across India, disrupting air travel and banking services.

Airlines canceled or rescheduled flights, shutters were down at state-run bank branches and trading volumes on India’s currency and bond markets fell to a trickle.

India has about 300 banks led by State Bank of India and the Congress party-led government wants some of the public sector ones to merge and become more competitive but the unions say fewer bigger banks would not necessarily lead to strength.

C.H. Venkatachalam, general secretary at the All-India Bank Employees’ Association said, “The strike is successful. No cash transactions are taking place, no clearing activities are done.” Private sector and foreign banks, which do not have many staff in trade unions, were functioning although some said cash counters were closed. Stock market trading was normal.

In Calcutta, public transport was brought to a standstill and factories, offices and schools remained shut in protest against government plans for privatization, bank mergers and foreign investment in pension funds and airports.

In Bombay, about a thousand bank workers carrying union placards marched from branch to branch shouting “Down with bank mergers!” and “Down with the government!”

Nearly 20,000 airport employees, mostly belonging to communist-led trade unions, went on a 12-hour strike to protest the government’s decision to let private companies operate the country’s two largest airports in New Delhi and Bombay.

Private domestic airlines canceled dozens of flights despite an assurance by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel that the government would maintain normal air services.

“Strike is our only remaining weapon to stop this unnecessary privatization of our airports,” said Nitin Jadhav, a leader of the Airport Authority of India Employees Joint Forum, which organized the action.

Carrying red flags, airport workers held protest demonstrations outside New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

India plans to let private companies run the two airports on 30-year leases and government stakes in the airports would be capped at 26 percent. A government official said two state-run airlines, Air-India and Indian Airlines, would operate all their flights yesterday. “No flights have been canceled on our advice. We have already arranged smooth operations at the airports with help from the Indian air force, navy and the Central Industrial Security Force,” said K. Ramalingam, chairman of the Airports Authority of India.

The worst-hit was Calcutta. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has been ruling the state for nearly two decades.

No flights operated from Calcutta’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Airport yesterday morning, Press Trust of India reported. Only two flights took off from New Delhi’s two airports out of the 50 scheduled during the first hour of the strike, PTI said. “If the government doesn’t come to its senses, there would be more strikes,” warned Gurudas Dasgupta, a communist party lawmaker and the general secretary of the All-India Trade Union Congress. — Additional input from agencies.