Calcutta, May 23 :    Calcutta, May 23:  The small screen frosted over as the 24-hour beam block hit cable homes in Calcutta on Thursday. Cable operators throughout Bengal observed a strike from 10 am Thursday to 10 am Friday to 'protest an arbitrary hike in pay-channel rates'. According to an RPG Netcom spokesperson, the strike, also called to 'increase business security for cable operators', was '95 per cent' successful in Bengal. The strike call irked, among others, the Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal. 'A strike is not a solution. What can it possibly achieve? People can surely go without TV for 24 hours,' said Mala Banerjee, president of the apex body of 160 registered organisations. The blackout had a 'positive' side, according to 21-year-old Crystal Reuben. 'The family sits around in the evening and actually talks about how the day went, instead of sitting glued to the small screen.' But Mrs S. Sah, schoolteacher, wife of a brigadier, mother of a teenager and an avid television watcher, felt horribly 'denied' by the strike call. Here's what she had to say about Calcuttans having to suffer a day without cable TV: 'A strike, on a summer day like this, is disastrous. When school is closed, I enjoy watching TV after I finish my day's work by 1 pm. I prefer watching Discovery and National Geographic in the afternoons, as I find some of their programmes fascinating and useful. I, in fact, ask my students to watch them as well. Many of these are serialised and so missing out on one is awful. 'In the late evenings, I watch my favourite serials on Zee and Star Plus. I follow Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani and Kahin Kissi Roz closely. In fact, one thing I missed on Thursday is the next episode of Kahin Kissi Roz, as it ended on a note of suspense on Wednesday. 'The other thing I'll be deprived of is the news on the hour on Star News and Aaj Tak. Being an army family, we are all very concerned about what's happening on the border. I watch every news bulletin. It's strange spending a day without watching the news, when the situation is so tense.'