Sporadic violence marked the second day of the Bharat Bandh in the State capital on Tuesday. While the declaration of dies non proved to be ineffective in ensuring above-par attendance in government offices, trade unionists prevented many workers from reporting for duty in various parts of the district.
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District Collector Navjot Khosa’s direction to ensure utmost attendance in offices and operate an adequate number of KSRTC services went unheeded as the public utility could operate only a small number of services. Instructions to provide security for employees and transport services also remained on paper.
The crew in KSRTC buses came under attack in a few places after protesters vented their ire on them. Driver Saji and conductor Saravanan, who were assigned duty in a bus headed for Kaliyikkavila from the Thiruvananthapuram Central bus station, were assaulted by around 50 protesters after the bus reached Pappanamcode. The incident took place despite the police providing escort.
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They assaulted the KSRTC workers with flagpoles and spat at them before forcibly disembarking the passengers who included Tamil Nadu natives returning home after consultations at various hospitals in the district. While the Karamana police registered a case, the bus driver and the conductor were admitted to the General Hospital.
Nearly 15 passengers were forced to disembark from a Kottarakara-bound bus at Vembayam by activists who allegedly threatened the KSRTC employees and tied a red flag on the bus bumper. The agitators also blocked buses at the East Fort depot to thwart attempts to conduct services on various routes.
Attendance thin
Instructions to return to work found little traction among large sections of employees as attendance remained thin in offices. Only above 4% of the workforce reported for duty in the Secretariat. While only 32 turned up on Monday, as many as 212 employees, including 188 in the General Administration department, were present.
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Many workers were turned back by protesters at the Neyyattinkara mini civil station. A petrol pump operated by Supplyco at Ulloor was closed by activists. Many banks, shops and offices were also shuttered by unionists in places including Attingal and Parassala.
Protesters laid siege to many roads across the district including in Vithura, Pozhiyoor, Uchakkada and Balaramapuram. Goods lorries that came from Tamil Nadu were briefly blocked in Neyyattinkara before the police intervened to enable their passage.
The activists also blocked vehicles along the national highway 66 bypass at Akkulam for nearly 30 minutes around 9 a.m. The same group thwarted attempts to reopen shops at the Lulu Mall and prevented workers from entering the premises. Shortly after the management announced that the shopping mall would not function on the day, the Pettah police forcibly removed and arrested nearly 10 activists from the area.
In spite of merchants’ associations declaring their intentions to reopen shops, only a few commercial establishments operated on the day.