BJP hartal near total in Kochi

KOCHI: The dawn-to-dusk hartal in the state called by the BJP on Sunday in protest against the murder of a party activist was near total in the city. Shops remained closed and both private and (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses kept off the roads. The online taxi service was also hit. But no incident of violence was reported from any part of the city. Hundreds of commuters and long distance passengers who landed in the city on overnight trains and buses were stranded at railway stations and bus stands. Volunteers of ‘Say No to Hartal campaign’ and police offered free rides to stranded passengers.

Heavy rush at a petrol pump in Kochi due to hartal on Sunday.

Police vehicles operated from the KSRTC bus stand and Ernakulam south railway station to Vyttila, Palarivattom, Infopark and Tripunithura. Though a few city private bus services operated in the morning, they cancelled trips after being threatened by party workers. Long distance KSRTC buses which reached the Ernakulam depot in the morning did not operate further trips as per the instructions of higher officials.

Cops help Kochi Metro passengers by dropping and picking them from metro stations on Sunday as public transports stayed away from roads following a BJP state hartal.

Hartal supporters forcibly closed down a couple of petrol pumps which operated in city areas and they blocked a few vehicles, mainly two-wheelers and auto rickshaws even in the presence of policemen. However, party activists allowed other vehicles including private cars to go. BJP workers took out protest marches at various places in the city and outskirts. Meanwhile, the hartal was partial in the rural areas of Ernakulam. LPG trucks, pick-up vans and a few taxis operated in many areas.