The national strike called by trade unions made a partial impact on the city life on Tuesday with most employees in the public transport sector joining the protest.
Private and KSRTC buses, taxi cars and autorickshaws stayed off the road as drivers and other crew members didn’t turn up for work. KSRTC operated a few services for Sabarimala pilgrims from the railway stations in the city.
Passengers were offered free rides by the police on the day. Drivers of the Police Department stepped in to operate a few buses, officials said.
Buses were operated from Nedumbassery, Aluva, Angamaly and Perumbavoor areas in the rural limits. A few trips were operated to Thrikkakara, Ernakulam central area and Mattancherry. Two city circular services were operated on the Vyttila-Palarivattom and Kakkanad routes, the police said.
No untoward incident
It was a peaceful day for law enforcement agencies and the general public as no untoward incident was reported. Though most shops and commercial establishments functioned on the day, the operations of some of the banks were affected as employees resorted to strike.
Trade union leaders said the two-day strike was complete in the district on the first day. The functioning of the fishing sector came to a halt. Employees of all the major central and state public sector companies stayed away from work. Other than the workers of essential services, all others participated in the agitation, said a statement issued by the district committee of the Joint Trade Union Committee.
Trains to be blocked
On Wednesday, the second day of the agitation, train services will be blocked at Kalamassery, Ernakulam North and Aluva, said a joint statement issued by committee chairman K.K. Ibrahim Kutty and convener C.K. Manisankar.