Kerala - Kochi   

Strike total in district

Staff Reporter

No untoward incidents; thin attendance in offices

LEFT PROTEST: Representatives of various Left parties and organisations protesting against the hike in petrol and diesel prices in the city on Tuesday. - Photo: Vipinchandran

KOCHI: The general strike called by the Left parties and organisations in protest against the hike in fuel prices was total in the district on Tuesday. No untoward incidents were reported during the dawn-to-dusk strike.

Shops remained closed through the day and city traffic was reduced to two-wheelers and occasional four-wheelers. Attendance at many Government offices was almost nil. Less than five employees reported for duty at the Collectorate. Classes at Government schools were affected, as students and teachers could not reach various campuses.

Majority of the CBSE schools had declared a holiday on Tuesday in view of the strike. Attendance at Cochin University of Science and Technology and Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit was low. Teachers' associations owing allegiance to the Left parties had extended their support to the strike.

The functioning at the Cochin Port Trust was not affected, with an attendance of around 45 per cent. Container movement within the port was not affected as the absentees were mostly from administrative staff, said port officials.

With the second strike stalling public life coming in quick succession, merchants are left a worried lot. Said K. Venkitesh Pai, general secretary of Ernakulam Merchants' Union, "though the strike call was made on a national level, the public life was brought to a standstill only in Kerala. Here, even private vehicles kept off the road."

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation did not operate any services during the daytime. Buses started plying only after 6 p.m. from the Ernakulam depot, said KSRTC officials.

Most of the commuters coming into and leaving the city had to rely on the trains which were not affected by the strike. However, with people preferring not to come out, no extra rush was experienced at the stations and all trains were operated on schedule, said Railway officials.

Meanwhile, the State committee of the United Trade Union Centre - Lenin Sarani has appreciated the participation of workers in making the strike a grand success. In a press release issued here, the Union and State Governments were urged to scrap the high taxes on petroleum products.

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