Hartal total, peaceful in city

KOCHI: The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Left and Opposition parties at the Centre to protest against the fuel price hike today was total and peaceful in the city.

Vehicles were off the road during the better part of the day , but life picked up towards the evening when two-wheelers and private vehicles ventured out to carry out immediate tasks. Some of the commercial establishments also did brisk business after the hartal hours.

This is the second hartal within a fortnight but the public response was quite positive and there were hardly any incidents which called for the intervention of the police.

Normal life was affected and commercial activities came to a standstill today. Most roads wore a deserted look and shops remained closed. There were sporadic incidents of �hartal supporters trying to block vehicles at some places in the city during the forenoon. The police arrested LDF activists from Palarivattom, Panangad, Kadavanthra, Ernakulam South and Trikkakkara in this connection. Hartal was more or less peaceful in the suburbs and rural areas, the police said.

While train services operated as usual, KSRTC and private bus services did not ply till 6 p.m. Normal KSRTC services would resume only by Tuesday, as many buses have been held up in different depots across the State.