Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Normal life hit in southern districts

MADURAI: Normal life was affected in the southern districts till evening on Monday, as buses went off the road and many shops and business establishments remained closed.

Except for stray incidents of stone-throwing and attack on shops, the day passed off peacefully. Bus services, which remained suspended from the morning, resumed in the afternoon. Government offices worked normally, officials claimed.

In Dindigul and Tuticorin districts, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam volunteers were seen moving about in vehicles in the morning, asking shopkeepers to put up the shutters. State Transport Corporation employees, owing allegiance to trade unions backed by the partners of the Democratic Progressive Alliance, did not bring buses out of depots. Those owing allegiance to the AIADMK alleged that they wanted to operate buses but were told that it could be done “at their risk.” In some places, they said, the depots remained closed. In Tirunelveli, Anna Labour Union members submitted a memorandum to the District Revenue Officer, alleging that they were prevented from operating buses. Autorickshaws plied normally in Theni district. In Madurai, office-goers reached their workplaces, hiring private vehicles in groups. Many hotels and restaurants functioned with the shutters half open.

Three buses were damaged at Tiruvattar in Kanyakumari district in stone-throwing on Sunday night. The Kerala State Transport Corporation operated services only so far as Parasalai on the inter-State border. Government offices and educational institutions remained open, and banks functioned normally at many places in the district.

Ramanathapuram district recorded 80 per cent attendance of teachers in government schools.

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