An uneasy calmness gripped the Kancheepuram town on Sunday as the silk saree showrooms, hotels, and other business establishments remained shut and the roads were free from the normal Sunday traffic.
Right from early morning hours the situation in town resembled like a `bandh day’ with a handful of autorickshaws plying on the road, milk vendors doing their business by lifting their shutters just above half-way mark and one or two tea shops serving their regular customers.
Snack and tea shops at the bus termini which normally start functioning from around 5 a.m. coinciding with the commencement of early morning bus services remained shut though one or two State Transport Corporation buses moved out of the termini, while the early morning private mofussil bus services remained off the road.
The petrol bunks also remained shut all most throughout the day leaving the motorists, particularly the outstation commuters who were forced to stay at the lodging houses in Kancheepuram on Saturday night in view of the tense situation that prevailed in the town, in a perplexed condition.
A lone petrol bunk on Chetty Street, which started to cater to the needs of motorcyclists from around 10 a.m., winded up its operations around noon following the objections raised by a group of persons who went around the town on motorcycles ordering the shops that were opened to close down.
Unofficial holiday
The TASMAC retail outlets that were advised to shut their business from around 3 p.m. on Saturday, remained locked on Sunday.
Similarly, employees of all silk saree showrooms run by both cooperative societies and private, more than two dozen hotels, and other business establishments enjoyed a holiday on Sunday as the managements decided to keep the shutters down.
Apart from these establishments, the automated teller machine (ATM) centres also remained shut on Sunday.
