The crippling impact of the 48-hour national strike by trade unions was felt keenly in Kerala as the hartal-like lockdown extended into its second day on Wednesday.
The final day of the shutdown was mostly peaceful, except for the pointed attack by strike supporters on the Treasury Branch of the State Bank of India next door to the Secretariat in the morning.
Regardless of the massive police presence in the high-security locality, a set of trade union activists sauntered into the bank, intimidated the staff, and wrecked office equipment wantonly.
Ripple effect
Television channels immediately broadcast surveillance camera footage of the violence. The images had a ripple effect across the State and deterred financial institutions and commercial establishments from opening up for business. Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan condemned the violence but upheld the right of workers to protest peacefully.
Travellers felt the bite of the close-down most, with strike supporters blocking trains and impeding bus, autorickshaw, and taxi services.
Many had to hitch-hike to their destinations and motorists and two-wheeler riders, who took the roads, as usual, were only too willing to help stranded travellers by offering them free rides.
Attendance was thin at State and Central government offices.
Bank and postal service remained inert for the second consecutive day. A majority of retail traders opened for business. However, sales were low and shelves, even in supermarkets, remained empty. The important Chalai market in Thiruvananthapuram remained largely closed.
However, shops at the iconic S.M. Street in Kozhikode and Broadway in Kochi remained open under police protection. In Kannur and Kasaragod, the strike assumed the proportions of a Bandh. Fish, meat, and poultry were at a premium in local markets. A petroleum dealer said only a few fuel pumps had leftover stock and most opted to remain closed fearing violence by strike supporters.
The strike disrupted the distribution of cooking gas. K. Chandrababu, general secretary of the Hartal Viruddha Munnani, an apolitical group opposed to lockdowns, said trade union leaders had intimidated a large section of traders from opening shops.
They also threatened government and bank employees from attending work.
The lockdown lessened in intensity in the evening.
‘A success’
The State-level Action Council of Trade Unions said here on Wednesday that the two-day general strike had won support from workers, traders, and the general public.
A press note issued here by the council said the success of the strike showed that the demands raised by trade unions were justified.