: Normal life was brought to a halt as the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Monday hit the functioning of educational institutions, government offices, businesses, and major markets across the State.
Although banks and the tourism sector had been exempted from the hartal, neither could derive full benefit of the gesture as travel facilities were not available at many places for the bank personnel to report for duty and for the tourists to move around freely.
The ruling alliance had exempted tourism sector, Sabarimala pilgrimage, hospitals, marriages, milk, and newspaper supply from the hartal. The hartal was to protest against the RBI curbs on the cooperative sector post-demonetisation and the denial of permission to an all-party delegation from Kerala to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to represent the State’s case vis-a-vis the cooperative institutions.
With hotels and wayside eateries remaining closed, the pilgrims also had a tough time during the day.
Skeletal service
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) operated only skeletal services, most of these to and from Sabarimala.
Private buses and other modes of transport stayed off the road.
Only few four-wheelers could be seen on the roads for major part of the day. In the absence of travel facilities and the closure of markets and commercial establishments, daily wage labourers had to go without employment and pay for a day.
The Opposition United Democratic Front, which had stood by the government at the special session of the State Assembly to adopt a resolution on the crisis in the cooperative sector, chose to distance itself from the hartal.
