Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

A hard day for travellers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tourists who reached the capital by trains from other destinations were caught unawares by the hartal on Tuesday.

Auto-rickshaw drivers rendered help to those going to hotels. But, many had to walk with their luggage once the UDF activists started waylaying the vehicles.

Horst Schweia, who works in a Travel Centre in North Germany, along with his wife Renate, had to abandon the trip to Thanjavur as KSRTC suspended the services following incidents of stone-pelting.

The couple, who had been in the city for the last three days to meet friends and visit the Attukal temple, came to know about the stir when they arrived at the KSRTC central bus station at Thampanoor. They boarded a bus bound for Nagercoil, but came out dejected on learning that the services had been suspended. The German couple waited for 30 minutes at the station and finally decided to postpone the journey. Mr. Schweia said the hotel staff where they were staying did not tell him about the hartal. “In a democracy, one has the right to fight for the cause. But, advance information should be passed on to all concerned, especially tourists, to reschedule their itinerary,” he added.

Those who arrived at the airport faced difficulties in reaching their destinations. Hashim A., a Non-Resident Keralite hailing from Attingal who arrived from Saudi Arabia in a Qatar Airways flight at 7 a.m., got stranded as his family could not reach the airport. He said he came to know about the hartal after booking the ticket. “My family had promised to come with a car. Since the telephone is out of order, I am not able to get in touch with them. The taxi drivers in the airport came forward to help. After seeing the stone-pelting incidents, I decided to stay in the airport till the hartal gets over in the evening,”

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