Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

BJP hartal brings life to a standstill in city

Photo: S. Gopakumar

helping hand: A heavy rush for packed meals supplied by street vendors in front of Government Medical College Hospital in the city on Thursday as hotels remained closed on account of the hartal called. —

Thiruvananthapuram: At least four persons, including a seven-year-old boy, were injured in hartal-related violence in the district on Thursday.

The Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP) had called for a State-wide hartal in protest against the inauguration of the Salem Railway Division in Tamil Nadu, which the party said was a deterrent to the interests of Kerala.

According to the police, protestors hurled stones at Joseph’s family while they were on their way home after attending morning prayers at a church near Sreekariyam.

Joseph, who sustained a deep gash on his arm, was later operated upon at a private hospital in the city. His parents, Jills and Regina, escaped with minor injuries. The Sreekariyam police have registered a case against local BJP activists in this connection.

Sherif, 48, and his son, Shafin, 18, of Kollam were injured when their vehicle was attacked by hartal supporters at Pongumoodu. Sherif was taking Shafin to the Dental College Hospital for a post-dental surgery check up.

The hospital authorities had given Shafin an appointment on November 1 morning. The father and son were admitted to Government Medical College Hospital (MCH). Their vehicle was damaged in the attack.

Hartal supporters hurled stones at passing vehicles at Balaramapuram and Neyyattinkara. They smashed the windscreen of a Tamil Nadu registered van at Balaramapuram. The local police said none were injured in the attack.

At Vengode in Vattapara police station limits, hartal supporters deflated the tyres of a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus carrying Kudumbasree workers to the venue of the function attended by the President at Central Stadium.

At PTP Nagar, persons suspected to be BJP activists smashed the windscreen of another KSRTC bus carrying Kudumbasree workers to the same function.

The hartal assumed the proportions of a bandh in the district. It threw life out of gear. Shops, hotels and commercial establishments remained closed.

Private and government transport buses, taxis and autorickshaws remained off the road. The roads were deserted, except for few private vehicles, mostly two-wheelers.

The hartal caused much inconvenience to railway passengers who disembarked at the Central Station. Most were stranded at the station without transport.

The situation was almost similar at the international airport. Some passengers had to pay exaggerated rates to taxi drivers willing to take the ‘risk’ of transporting them to their destinations. The KSRTC called off most of its long distance services. The KSRTC’s East Fort and Thampanoor bus stands looked deserted.

People living in lodges and hostels in the city found it difficult to find food. Many queued up for breakfast and later for lunch at the canteen run by the railways at the Central Station.

It was good business for street vendors selling lunch packets in front of the MCH. Many lodge dwellers relied on bicycle-borne hawkers selling coffee and bread.

A tense situation prevailed at the MCH for sometime in the afternoon, with relatives of patients alleging that there was shortage of medical staff at the casualty wing of the hospital. The police control room received several calls for help from citizens, mostly from those wanting to transport their sick relatives to hospitals.

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