The dawn-to-dusk hartals called by fishers and fish workers in the coastal belt and rubber growers in the high ranges, coupled with a general strike organised by major motor transport workers, hit life in most parts of Kerala on Wednesday.
The combined effect of the hartals and strike in the motor transport sector was a near-total shutdown of shops, markets, commercial establishments and poor attendance levels in government offices and educational institutions. A bandh-like situation prevailed in many parts of the State, leaving commuters and long-distance travellers stranded at bus terminals and railway stations. Functioning of banks, private business establishments, and public and private sector industrial enterprises was also hit by the hartals.
The hartal in the fisheries sector was called by the Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee in protest against the recommendations of the B. Meenakumari Committee. The rubber growers and dealers’ hartal was to protest against the absence of strong measures to keep the price of natural rubber steady. The joint action council of motor transport workers, comprising unions owning allegiance to the CITU, INTUC, AITUC and the BMS, besides many other major unions, had called the general strike to protest against sharp increase vehicle insurance premium. The entire fisheries sector remained paralysed with both seagoing and inland fishers staying off work. Boats remained on the shores across the State and the fishers and fish workers staged demonstrations in different places. In Thiruvananthapuram, coordination committee convener T. Peter, Eugene Pereira, and A. Neelalohithadasan Nadar among others, addressed a dharna.
