Protest meet held; walkway blocked

KOCHI: Following the accident that led to the death of a woman near Aluva private bus stand on Thursday, local residents organised a protest meet at the walkway near the bus stand. The protest meet, led by DYFI, saw local residents and trade union workers raising slogans against the “apathy of authorities in reining in unruly private buses”.

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“The authorities are not taking any step to curb rash driving by private buses,” said a DYFI worker. The bus that mowed down the woman on Thursday violated rules and used the walkway meant for pedestrians to enter the private bus stand, he said.“The buses have to take a longer route to enter the Aluva private bus stand. The distance eats into their running time and, hence, they take the shortcut at the expense of pedestrians,” said Anil Mathew, a motorist.

‘No entry’ for buses

To prevent the buses from using the walkway, the DYFI workers placed a concrete divider blocking the route.