The State Motor Workers' Coordination Committee has called for a dawn-to-dusk motor transport strike in Kerala on Saturday to protest against the increase in petrol price. Although private vehicles are not covered by the stir, it is very likely to affect normal life across the State.
Committee convener Elamaram Karim, MLA, told The Hindu here on Friday that the strike would cover the entire public transport sector, except distribution of milk and newspapers and operation of ambulances and other hospital vehicles. The coordination committee, he said, was firm on a total rollback of the price hike announced by oil companies on Thursday. “We hope that the Central government would see the anger of the people and intervene,” Mr. Karim said.
Kerala was witness to protest demonstrations by student and youth organisations and various workers' outfits through Thursday evening and the better part of Friday. While Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and All India Youth Federation (AIYF) activists gave vent to their anger by barging into Central government establishments and targeting some of the petrol pumps run by private operators, motor transport workers held demonstrations in different parts of the State to register their protest against the price hike.
The State unit of the DYFI took out a demonstration from Thampanoor to the General Post Office in the capital city to protest against the price hike. The AIYF burnt the Prime Minister in effigy before the Accountant General's office. The All India Trade Union Congress-led Motor Thozhilali Union held a protest demonstration in front of the Secretariat.
In a statement here, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions-affiliated All India Transport Workers' Federation national secretary K.K. Divakaran called upon all sections of motor transport workers to join the struggle against the price hike. In another statement, Communist Party of India State secretary C.K. Chandrappan urged party cadres to organise rallies across the State to register their protest.
