Kerala - Palakkad   

Bus, lorry strike affects life

Staff Reporter

Strike total in Palakkad; Walayar check-post looks deserted

PALAKKAD: The Walayar inter-State and other check posts in this border district wore a deserted look as trucks and other heavy vehicles kept off the road in protest against the order to fit speed governors on these vehicles.

The strike was total in the district and affected the movement of people and goods. Most of the consumer goods were brought from outside the State and Walayar was the main gateway to Kerala. The strike affected the movement of essential commodities, particularly vegetables, egg, chicken and other essential commodities.

Shortage of goods

Already the markets were facing shortage of essential items due to rain, and if the strike continued there would be scarcity even for food items. The prices of vegetables and other essential items went up in the local markets.

People in the district mainly depend on the Coimbatore-Pollachy areas of Tamil Nadu for the supply of vegetables, eggs and chicken.

It also depended on Tamil Nadu for other essential commodities. The stoppage of movement of goods from other States affected supply.

The public transport service was mainly run by private buses.

The KSRTC buses operated services between Palakkad-Coimbatore and Palakkad-Thrissur.

It operated only a few buses to the interior areas of the district. Thus the commuters depended on parallel services, which charge heavily during the strike period.

The KSRTC withdrew some of buses from Palakkad-Coimbatore route and operated them into the Palakkad-Kozhikode route to meet the heavy rush along this route. But the KSRTC with its few buses were not able to meet the huge demand even in the main State highways.

The Chuttur area of the district was faced with acute shortage of public transport due to the strike by private buses. It was also facing shortage of food items due to the halt of movement of vegetables and other edible items from the Tamil Nadu side.

The traders here said that if the strike continued for a couple of days more, the district would face acute shortage of essential items, especially vegetables.

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Bus, lorry strike affects life

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