Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Protest marches disrupt life in city

Thiruvananthapuram: A spate of demonstrations disrupted public life in the city on Friday. Traffic moved at a snail’s pace on the arterial M.G. Road from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. A motorist said it took him over an hour to reach Palayam from Ulloor junction.

The police had a difficult time maintaining law and order and managing traffic. The almost simultaneous demonstrations stretched police resources thin.

At around 11 a.m., over 100 Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers marched from Ayurveda College to East Fort in protest against a three-day prayer meeting organised by Heavenly Feast Church at Gandhi Park Maidan. Concurrently, nearly 100 Shiv Sena workers marched to the Secretariat from East Fort accusing the government of hounding Hindu sanyasis and ashramams.

The police had to deploy men and vehicles in front and rear of the demonstrations to prevent violence. Still, some of the activists vandalised small hoardings of the prayer meeting placed on either side of M.G. Road.

The police prevented a group of belligerent Shiv Sena workers from storming into the Secretariat compound. Shiv Sena leader Bhuvanachandran addressed the protestors.

Nearly 1,000 All India Youth Federation (AIYF) workers marched to Raj Bhavan in protest against the policies of the Central government.

The demonstration disrupted traffic along the key LMS Junction-Vellayambalam-Kowadiar-Peroorkada-Nedumangadu route for hours. Motorists going to PTP Nagar and adjoining areas had to take roundabout routes. A large section of people from the suburbs, many of them depending on the over-stretched public transport system, could not reach government offices, banks and hospitals in the city on time.

Communist Party of India State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan, inaugurated the AIYF Raj Bhavan march. He accused the Central government of ignoring the needs of the people.

Nearly 24 United Democratic Front MLAs led by Opposition Leader Oomen Chandy staged a dharna in front of the government Secretariat in protest against the “anti-people” policies of the State government, rendering the Secretariat area inaccessible to a large section of the public for several hours.

The pensioners’ association of retired Kerala State Road Transport Corporation employees also staged a dharna in front of the Secretariat.

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