The nationwide strike called by the All-India Coordination Committee of Road Transport Workers’ Organisations on Tuesday affected normal life in the district.
The strike led to a hartal-like situation even in small towns of the district as shops, educational institutions and business establishments remained closed.
Attendance was low in government offices and financial institutions.
Only 35 out of the 135 employees turned up for duty at the Collectorate here, Additional District Magistrate-in charge E.P. Mercy said.
The offices of various departments, especially in Sulthan Bathery and Mananthavady taluks, also recorded poor attendance, she added. Private buses and four-wheelers stayed off the road. People were seen riding two-wheelers.
No services were operated from the Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta, and Mananthavady depots of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation.
No untoward incidents had been reported so far, the police said. The strike supporters took out protest marches.
Hartal-like
Staff Reporter writes from Kasaragod: The strike evoked near-total response in the district.
A hartal-like situation prevailed in the district as most traders kept their shops closed, anticipating limited flow of public as the entire modes of public transport, including Kerala and Karnataka State RTC buses, joined strike.
However, traders in BJP-RSS pockets opened their shops. The strike affected the turnout of employees in offices. In the Collectorate, only 67 out of the 164 Revenue Department staff reported for duty. Two-wheelers and other private vehicles, however, plied.
Passengers who reached by trains in the railway stations were stranded. However, police vans were put into service to transport them.
The strike supporters waylaid inter-State trucks on the national highway. No untoward incident had been reported, Crime Branch CID wing Dy.SP Jyothikumar said.
