After a day of complete shutdown across the district on Tuesday for the demise of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, normality returned to Madurai on Wednesday.
It was business as usual for almost all the shops and other business establishments that started functioning regularly since morning. Since the banks were also closed on Tuesday, people were seen queuing up in considerable numbers in several ATMs and banks to withdraw money.
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, which had stopped the bus services throughout Tuesday, resumed all their services from Wednesday morning 6 a.m. Mini buses and autorickshaws were also plying as usual.
Barring schools and other educational institutions, all government offices were open.
People were seen visiting Collectorate and other offices to get their regular work done.
Garlanded pictures of Ms. Jayalalithaa were kept in many government offices, to which employees laid by their senior officials paid respects and observed a minute of silence.
Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao paid his respects on Tuesday morning itself at the entrance of the main building on the Collectorate premises in the presence of a few other senior officials.
Though processions by AIADMK cadres to pay homage to Ms. Jayalalithaa were expected to happen on Wednesday, no such events were organized, primarily due to the absence of senior district-level leaders of the party, all of whom were in Chennai.
Pictures of Ms. Jayalalithaa kept in many street corners on Tuesday with loudspeakers playing songs in praise of her were also removed from most of the places on Wednesday.
No untoward incidents were reported in any parts of the district, police sources said.
