The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kozhikode on Saturday in protest against the attack on their offices, which they blamed on the CPIM), was total.
The situation was more or less calm in the city though incidents of violence were reported from politically volatile villages and towns on the outskirts.
Motorcycle-borne miscreants threw stones at the residence of BJP State secretary V.K. Sajeevan at Vadakara on Friday night damaging windowpanes. No one was injured in the incident.
The local committee office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Feroke was set on fire on Saturday morning. CPI(M) leaders alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers were behind the incident.
Hartal supporters ransacked two shops at Nadapuram. The Kuttiyadi Assembly constituency office of the Indian Union Muslim League was set on fire. An office of the CPI(M) at Velam was reportedly painted green by IUML workers.
Shops remain shut
Most shops and business establishments in the city remained closed. Private bus services kept off the road and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) ran services on select long-distance routes.
Private vehicles were seen plying across the city. Those who alighted at the railway station had a tough time reaching their destinations. Police personnel there were seen helping passengers catch transport.
Violent demonstrations, attacks, and counter-attacks marked two days of back-to-back hartals in the district. People have been at the receiving end with no public transport and business establishments remaining shut for the past two days.
A dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Friday in protest against the attack on the CPI(M) district committee office was marked by stray incidents of violence.
The CPI(M) and BJP workers clashed on the streets, prompting the police to act tough.
3-day shutdown
For the residents of Olavanna grama panchayat, it was the third day of shutdown as a hartal was observed in the area on Thursday too after the local CPI(M) office was allegedly attacked by BJP workers.
District Collector U.V. Jose has called for a peace committee meeting at the civil station on Monday. Elected representatives and leaders of major political parties will attend the meeting.
Political observers say the attack on CPI(M) district secretary P. Mohanan has marked a new trend in the city, which has been immune to political violence. Only a joint effort by stakeholders will prevent the situation from going out of hand, they say.
