AICCTU rally in Patna on Tuesday.Patna: Living up to its reputation of being a city of rallies, Patna on Tuesday, was faced with yet another traffic-paralyzing protest - this time activists belonging to the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) hijacking the roads to build up heat on the state government to surrender to its various demands.

The rally began at the Gandhi Maidan and concluded at the R-Block where it turned into a public meeting as leaders took turns to spell out their demands.

AICCTU state president Shyam Lal, after excoriating the state government for ignoring the interests of the workers and acting as the agents of multinational corporations, threatened to intensify their stir if their demands were not met without any condition and without further delay.

"We are asking for a minimum daily wage of Rs. 385 or Rs. 10,000 per month, a ban on contract workers, regularization of daily wage earners, an end to the exploitation of female labors, strict implementation of labor laws, and social security for the farm workers, besides a host of other demands," Lal said.

AICCTU general secretary R. N. Thakur said the Nitish administration had failed to keep its electoral promises and the conditions of daily wage earners, under the NDA rule in Bihar, had gone from bad to worse.

"We will be forced to expand and intensify our agitation if the government continues to ignore our demands," Thakur said.