The dawn-to-dusk State-wide hartal called jointly by Sabarimala Karma Samithi and Hindu Aikya Vedi got off to a rather slow start in the district as large sections of the populace woke up with no idea about the hartal called following the arrest of K P Sasikala, the State president of Hindu Aikya Vedi, on Friday midnight.
Police said that no untoward incidents have been reported across the rural and city limits though Sangh Parivar outfits have scheduled protest marches to the offices of the District Police Chief (Rural) and City Police Commissioner later in the day.
“Sangh Parivar organisations will be organising protest marches in all important towns in the district including Aluva, Angamaly, Perumbavur, Kothamangalam etc. It will be a mix of ‘Namajapa procession’ and conventional protest marches,” said M.N. Gopi, district secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party.
Earlier in the day, many private and KSRTC buses operated as usual while many shops and petrol pumps opened without knowing that a hartal was on. As news of the hartal spread, private buses were taken off the road and already opened shops downed the shutters.
However, private vehicles were out in numbers though it caught Sabarimala pilgrims from outside the State off guard with hotels remaining closed and many of their vehicles in danger of running out of fuel.
Rural Police have issued an alert to the KSRTC depots within their limits to ensure police protection for services being operated. “We have already facilitated operation of a few services bound for Palakkad from Aluva depot in police convoy,” said a senior police official.
Boat services by the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) to the Goshree islands and Kakkanad are being operated for the time being though the passenger turnout was very low. Though we were forced to suspend services in Alappuzha district, things are normal in Ernakulam so far,” said Shaji V Nair, SWTD director.
The hartal had little impact in the IT sector as majority of companies is having the weekend off.
