Kerala - Kochi   

Motor strike affects trade

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, NOV. 24. The dawn-to-dusk motor strike called by the joint action council, in protest against the hike in fuel prices, passed off peacefully.

Public life remained normal as private vehicles plied freely, though the public transport kept off the road.

Attendance at the District Collectorate was partially affected. No untoward incidents were reported in the city, said M.N. Jayaprakash, Superintendent of Police (Rural).

The KSRTC operated 14 special services to make up for the absence of private buses in the city.

The routes included Kakkanad-Ernakulam, Chellanam-Thoppumpady and Paravoor-Njarakkal-Collector's Square for the Goshree Islands.

Special services

It operated services to Piravom, Thripunithura and Chottanikkara areas, said P.F. Johnson, District Transport Officer. Traders and merchants in the region said that even though shops were open, business was badly affected due to the strike. It was as bad as on a day of hartal.

Many shops were closed early, hardly making any sales during the day, said A.P. Johny, president of Grain Merchants Association.

Another group that bore the brunt of the strike was tea exporters. Auction of tea dust is conducted every Tuesday and that of tea leaves on Wednesdays. Tea dust auctioned yesterday could not be despatched due to the strike.

As many as 10 truck-loads of tea dust had to be held back today, said Anilkumar N. Prabhu, president of Tea Buyers' Association.

The auction of tea leaves went as on schedule.

The transaction was affected as normal functioning was disrupted for 4-5 days during the last fortnight due to a few holidays and two hartals, he added.

The inability of people to reach shops affected the sales for the day, though it was not as bad as during hartals, said S.A. Mansoor, secretary of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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