A dawn-to-dusk hartal observed by the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the district on Thursday against the alleged apathy of the State government in materialising the Nilambur-Sulthan Bathery-Nanjangud railway line was total and peaceful.
Shops, business establishments, and educational institutions remained closed. Attendance was low in government offices.
Only 36 out of the 139 employees turned up for duty at the Collectorate, K.M. Raju, Additional District Magistrate, told The Hindu .
Private buses and four-wheelers stayed off the road. However, two-wheelers plied. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation operated one schedule each to Gundlupet, Mysuru, and Bengaluru in Karnataka and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu from Sulthan Bathery and four schedules from Kozhikode to Sulthan Bathery in the morning.
Long queues of vehicles could be seen at Madhur, Tholpetty, and Muthanga check-posts.
No hartal-related untoward incidents were reported, Rajpal Meena , Superintendent of Police, Wayanad, said. There were reports of hartal supporters obstructing vehicles at Sulthan Bathery and Kalpetta. Protest marches were also taken out.
