THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the LDF and BJP in protest against the petrol price hike brought normal life across the state to a standstill on Monday.Six KSRTC buses were attacked by hartal loyalists; four in the state capital, and one each in Palakkad and Alappuzha.Two KSRTC employees were manhandled at Vatakara in Kozhikode, KSRTC officials said. M Sajeesh Kumar, conductor, and M D Sasidharan, driver, sustained minor injuries after hartal loyalists blocked the bus and assaulted the crew. Vatakara police have registered a case in this regard.Two KSRTC buses were stoned at Parassala around 4 am, even before the hartal had officially begun.Stones were pelted at a Thiruvananthapuram-Palakkad superfast at Purakkad in Alappuzha.A bus chartered by a marriage party was attacked in Kollam.The transport utility pegged the damage to its buses at `30,000, but said revenue loss could amount to `1 lakh as the buses will be forced to stay off road until repairs were carried out.Public transport, by and large, stayed off road, although the KSRTC conducted a few services in convoys.Autorickshaws and taxis did not ply. Private vehicles were seen plying unchallenged in some places.Passengers, including foreign tourists, were stranded at railway stations and bus stands.In Thiruvananthapuram, the police ran bus services from the Thampanoor railway station and the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport.The LDF and BJP aside, the Motor Vehicles Coordination Committee also observed a hartal on Monday.
Comments
0 comment