12 hour shutdown in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Normal life in Kerala was disrupted Tuesday as the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), imposed a statewide 12 hour shutdown to protest against price rise in the state.

On account of the shutdown, which began at 6 a.m., the 30,000-odd private buses in the state remained off the roads. Only a few state-owned buses were seen operating here and there. And since a large majority of autorickshaws and cabs had also taken the day off, people venturing out had to wait endlessly for transport.

A family from Andhra Pradesh, which arrived by train at the central station here, was taken aback when compelled to pay Rs.400 for a drive in an autorickshaw to the Technopark campus here.

“A taxi asked for Rs.1,200 (when the rate is Rs.250) and we decided to take an auto who finally agreed to Rs.400. The policemen nearby were merely observing the ongoing bargaining,” said the family.

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chipping in to support the statewide shutdown called by its trade union wing, commercial establishments remained shut and market places wore a deserted look.

According to a website displaying information on all the shutdowns the state has witnessed, this was the 54th this year in Kerala.

On account of the shutdown, all university exams were postponed. But the state had a surprise visitor in the BJP chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan who arrived with his family on a three-day holiday.

The IT campus at Kochi and Technopark here reported a large number of absentees — both on account of the shutdown and also because it’s the end of the year.

“A lot of seats are vacant because it’s the end of the year and all the excess accumulated leave is being availed,” said an HR manager of a leading IT company at Technopark.