In the wake of uncertainty about Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s health condition, shops and others commercial establishments downed their shutters on Monday evening.
According to sources, AIADMK cadres threatened shopkeepers at the Thoothukudi old bus stand and around Palayamkottai Road, WGC Road and VE Road here and made them shut their shops.
Similarly, shops were also closed in parts of Kovilpatti and Tiruchendur. Many parents thronged schools and picked up their children in the afternoon hours.
Education Department sources said that there was no order from the government to close schools and school administrations had been advised to allow students to go home whenever parents came to pick up their children. Many passengers were also stranded as buses stopped running.
After learning about the deteriorating health condition of the Chief Minister, most of the Sabarimala bound Lord Ayyappa devotees moved away from Tiruchendur during the afternoon hours by vans, sources said. Moreover, police are on high alert with deployment of adequate strength to monitor the situation across the district and prevent any untoward incident.
Around 2,000 police personnel have been mobilised in the district, sources said.
