Normal life in the State was disrupted on Tuesday on account of the Statewide dawn-to-dusk motor strike called by the Kerala Motor Vyavasaya Samrakshana Samiti in protest against the spiralling prices of petroleum products and cooking gas.
Private stage carriers, taxies and autorickshaws remained off the road. The hurdles in mobility also affected the attendance in offices and institutions across the State.
The movement of goods and the construction sector was also hit with lorries and trucks remaining off the road. Private vehicles plied as usual despite the call by the samiti, an umbrella organisation of trade unions affiliated to INTUC, CITU, AITUC, and organisations of owners of private stage carriers, lorries, trucks and other commercial one.
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation was able to operate its fleet only partially, as two recognised unions -- INTUC-affiliated Transport Democratic Federation (TDF) and CITU-affiliated Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association -- supported the cause.
In the Thiruvananthapuram-based south zone of the KSRTC, the State transport undertaking was able to operate only 407 schedules. Of the 4,944 staff on the rolls, 2,478 came to offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta disricts on Tuesday. The BMS-affiliated Kerala State Transport Employees Sangh (KSTES) did not participate in the strike.
All other trade unions supported the 6 a.m.-6 p.m. stir called by the samiti, which took out a march to the Accountant General’s office in the State capital. The SSLC and Plus Two higher secondary and vocational higher secondary model examinations scheduled for Tuesday were postponed to March 8. Universities, including Mahatma Gandhi, Kerala, Cusat and Calicut, also postponed the examinations scheduled for Tuesday.
