The 24-hour hartal sponsored by the Joint Action Council, protesting against the alleged Governmental delay in withdrawing the industrial area declaration in the name of the proposed private airport project, in Aranmula was total and incident-free on Saturday.
All shops in Mallappuzhasserry and Aranmula panchayat limits remained closed in view of the hartal call. The central junction in Aranmula borne a deserted look.
Private vehicles, barring two-wheelers, kept off the road. However, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation has operated services on the Chengannur-Kozhencherry and Pathanamthitta-Kozhencherry-Pandalam route.
Branches of all banks in the two villages could not function and the State-run Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam too was closed following intervention of a group of hartal-supporters.
The hartal-supporters attached to different political parties and socio-environmental al organisations staged a march in Aranmula, later, in the afternoon.
P. Prasad, district secretary of the Communist Party of India who is also a close associate of the social activist, Medha Patkar, and R. Ajayakumar, District Panchayat member, led the march.
As many as 200 women, attached to ‘Sakthivahini’, women’s wing of the People’s Action Council, led by its coveners, Vijyayamma S. Pillai, Sreekumari Mohan, and Tara Unnikrishnan, also took part in the march.
Addressing the march, Mr Prasad has called upon the Government to withdraw the notification as such with out any further delay.
He said the ongoing public agitation against Aranmula has no politics at all. Active workers and supporters of various political parties, including Congress(I), CPI, CPI(M), have been actively participating in the agitation against the private airport project, taking into consideration of its disastrous impacts on the environment, ecology, riverine system and the region as a whole, he added.
Mr Prasad said the agitation would continue with added vigour until the Government officially declare that it would not permit the proposed airport project which needed large scale conversion of wetlands and paddy fields.
