The general strike on Friday, called by central trade unions to protest against what they called the anti-people policies of the Centre, virtually turned into a hartal in Kerala throwing normal life out of gear while it evoked only lukewarm response in other parts of the country. Tension prevailed in several parts of Kerala on Friday morning as agitators blocked employees from entering industrial establishments for work.
The strike affected the operation of the ISRO in Thiruvananthapuram for the first time in the State’s history even as vehicles kept off the roads, industrial units and offices — both in the Government and private sectors — recorded skeletal attendance and educational institutions, shops and commercial establishments remained closed.
Several minor incidents like smashing of the windshield of a Uber cab in Kochi, blocking of vehicles in several areas and stone-pelting on vehicles in some places were reported. Even private vehicles were seen only rarely on the roads though the unions had assured that vehicles would not be blocked.
Hundreds of passengers were trapped at railway stations in the absence of cabs and autorikshaws. The strike also affected several tourists. “I have to reach Fort Kochi. There is nothing. No cab, no restaurant... It seems I will have to walk all the way to my hotel on an empty stomach,” said a Spanish tourist at Ernakulam South Railway Station.
The strike hit, though partially, the operations at the three ISRO units in Thiruvananthapuram — Thumba, Vattiyoorkavu and Valiamala — as over 300 vehicles of the institution meant for transporting employees could not be put into operation on Friday morning after agitators laid siege to the garage at Marappalam in the city.
Tension prevailed for some time on Friday morning at Thiruvananthapuram city’s main railway station at Thampanoor following heated arguments between the agitators and a group of autorikshaw drivers — said to be members of the BMS which was not participating in the strike — who had come prepared to take passengers.
Agitators blocked a group of employees, who had come prepared to work on the day of the general strike, at the gates of a public sector industrial unit in Kalamassery near Kochi. The incident led to some tension in the area. “We have a right not to strike just like they (the unionists) have their right to strike,” said one of the employees.
Tension prevailed for some time also at the gates of the Apollo Tyres unit at Perambra, Chalakkudy in Thrissur district as several employees who arrived there with willingness to work were blocked by the agitators. The issue was settled with the intervention of the police who helped the employees to enter the factory.
In Kochi, Kerala’s commercial capital, all the trade establishments remained closed while the attendance levels recorded at several institutions were skeletal. The Cochin Port Trust claimed an attendance level of 51 per cent. Operations of IT facility Infopark and the special economic zone off Kochi also were hit by the strike.
The strike evoked total response in Malabar, the northern region of Kerala. Commercial establishments, schools trading houses, etc remained closed on Friday in Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod. Reports said that hundreds of vehicles were lying trapped at the Manjeswaram inter-state border check post in Kasaragod.
However, the strike did not affect the works of Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who had got into a controversy by giving a call to all to make the strike a success, and several Ministers. Pinarayi attended a meeting at the CPI(M)’s State headquarters, and later went to the Thiruvananthapuram airport in his official vehicle to board a flight to Delhi.