Hartal disrupts life, Onam sale in Kerala

The day-long hartal called by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Tuesday in protest against the murder of an RSS leader at Thalassery in northern Kannur district disrupted normal life across the state.

Workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which supported the hartal, and the RSS blocked roads at various places. Incidents of stone pelting on KSRTC buses and private vehicles were reported from many parts. Private buses, taxis and autorickshaws kept off the roads and shops remained closed.

The hartal hit the Onam sale too - the best trading season of the state. Vegetables and provision markets were the worst affected. As the hartal was announced late in the evening on Monday, vegetables were unloaded in main markets like Ernakulam and Chala in Thiruvnanthapuram, but sales were disrupted. Sale of fish was also affected badly. Sathyan, a street vendor told Business Standard that his main sale in the year was during this one week in connection with Onam. "We lost one day's sales. It will be very difficult to compensate the loss," he said.

Stone pelting

Incidents of stone pelting at vehicles were reported in Kakkanad and near South Railway station in Kochi soon after the hartal started at 6 am. The RSS office in Kochi too came under attack by a gang of three persons, who came in an autorickshaw. Police nabbed one person in the incident. In Kannur, country bombs were blasted at three spots, but no casualty was reported. A KSRTC bus came under attack in Meenangadi in Wayanad district while a container lorry's windshield was broken in stone pelting at Haripad, Alappuzha district, by hartal supporters.

In Kottayam, Idukki, Palakkad and Malappuram districts, the shutdown was complete. The state government declared a holiday for educational institutions, including professional colleges, and universities postponed examinations scheduled for the day.

Mahe district, which is under the Union Territory of Puducherry, also observed the hartal on Tuesday.

In Kozhikode, KSRTC buses refused to ply despite police offering protection. Police personnel were deployed in big numbers in sensitive areas across the state, especially in northern districts, after an intelligence report mentioned possibility of violence during the day-long hartal.

State home minister Ramesh Chennithala said the government would not allow anyone to turn Kannur into a centre of violence and tension. Those who arrived at railway stations and airports were the worst affected.

The hartal call was given following the murder of Elanthodath K Manoj (42), a district office-bearer (Shikhan Pramukh) of RSS in politically-volatile Kathirur in Kannur on Monday. Two others were injured, one of them seriously, in the attack.

Country-made bombs were hurled at the van in which Manoj and his companions were travelling and the attackers then hacked him to death.

RSS-BJP leaders alleged the CPM was behind the killing and demanded strong intervention of the police. Eight persons have been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the incident, the police said. Manoj was one of the accused in a murder attack against P Jayarajan, CPI(M) Kannur district secretary, in 1999.

BJP president Amit Shah, who was in the state on Monday, condemned the killing at a convention of the party workers. RSS Sarsangha Chalak Mohan Bhagwat was also in Kerala a few days ago. Meanwhile, Union home minister Rajnath Singh had sought a report from the state government on the murder.