India, July 30 -- Markets and businesses across Punjab shut down Thursday as sanitation workers staged a statewide strike over a police lathi-charge in Barnala, disrupting normal life in several cities while emergency services stayed open.

The strike, backed by multiple employee unions and Dalit organizations, followed a July 22 incident in which police baton-charged sanitation workers in Barnala. Police said the charge came after workers threw stones and garbage bags to block a municipal cleanliness drive.

Shops and commercial establishments closed in Barnala, Hoshiarpur, Sangrur, Tarn Taran and Samana, though hospitals, pharmacies and ambulance services continued operating, according to the report.

In Hoshiarpur, members of the Munic...