The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Now, a hartal scoreboard too

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Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Now, a hartal scoreboard too

M.P. Praveen

A web site gives a list of taluk, panchayat, district and State-level hartals called in the State since 2005.

FILE PHOTO

DESERTED: A usual sight on a hartal day.

KOCHI: The subjects of ‘God’s Own Country’ are “blessed” with a holiday that comes all too often. While in other States it comes at a premium, here it is so abundant that they are no longer startled at the announcement of that unexpected holiday. Welcome to the land of hartals.

So, on Tuesday there is a hartal called by the Opposition United Democratic Front against the rising prices. An average Malayali might yawn and ask, “so what’s new about it?” The more cynical among them even ask what else the job of the Opposition is!

While the majority have lost interest in the phenomenon of hartals, the “statistic crazy” among them are keeping a scoreboard of sorts detailing how many hartals have been called and by whom.

For those, the website www.harthal.com might prove to be a treasure trove. The site gives a detailed list of taluk, panchayat, district and State-level hartals called in the State since 2005.

Going by the numbers given in the site, 2007 can easily be declared as the “year of hartals”. If the site is to be believed, there were not less than 46 hartals, including the three-day hartal held in Munnar, in protest against the anti-encroachment drive.

The years 2006 and 2005 pale in comparison, as there were only 14 and five hartals respectively.

The start to the New Year has not been bad either. All political parties, both ruling and opposition, have made its “presence felt” by now. And February is yet to be over.

However, according to the site, the Bharatiya Janata Party has so far outshone others with four hartals to its credit. The UDF and the LDF observed a hartal in Kollam as a mark of respect to the demised leader Baby John. The Communist Party of India held a hartal in Kannur and Thalassery in protest against the killing of one of its activists.

The more imaginative among the Malayalis are waiting for the day when a hartal will be called in protest against the increasing frequency of hartals! Now, that will be the crowning moment.

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