Kochi: Normal life was affected in the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the UDF in the district as private buses kept off the roads, fuel outlets and shops remained closed while stray incidents of violence were reported from many parts of district.
A KSRTC bus was stoned at Palarivattom along NH 66 in the morning as hartal activists staged marches at many places like High Court Junction road and Kalamassery. In Kalamassery cops booked 40 people for forcefully attempting to close down a petrol pump at Pattadipalam.
“A case for rioting was taken against two unidentified persons at Palarivattom while 40 were booked by the Kalamassery police on charges of Unlawful Assembly (sec 143 IPC) and causing danger or obstruction in public way (sec 283 IPC),” police said. Office goers and other commuters struggled to reach their destinations though KSRTC operated most of its services in the morning. “We operated 15 Thiru-Kochi buses in the morning, however, eight of them were withdrawn from service due to poor commuter rush,” said a senior KSRTC official.
The State Water Transport Department too were forced to cancel many trips post noon due to lack of commuter patronage. “Our boat running to Panavally was detained by the hartal activists at some places and it was eventually cancelled,” an official said. The Kochi Metro too conducted normal services, however, there weren’t much passengers in the absence of last mile connectivity. Meanwhile, commercial establishments remained closed while low attendance was recorded at private and government offices. “A total of 64 out of the 85 offices at Collectorate functioned today. It included essential services like MVD and Treasury. Both the collector and the Additional District Magistrate reported for duty at the morning itself. However, the attendance level at the office was near 50 per cent only,” sources said. The city remained a virtual security fortress as nearly 1500 police personnel were deployed to prevent untoward incidents.
