It appears the state has had enough of the hartal malaise. For the first time in the history of Kerala a mass movement is building up against hartal which eats up around Rs 2,000 crore direct and indirect revenue of the state. Now, an anti-hartal movement is gaining momentum with numerous organisations coming out against this age-old mode of protest. The Joint Action Council Against Hartal (JACAH) hopes to put pressure on political parties to end such strikes, which paralyse normal life.
Stakeholders in sectors like industry, tourism, retail, transport, realty, hotels and education have already expressed their resentment toward hartals. The JACAH, which comprises TiE, KMA, IMA, CII, FICCI, KSSIA, coir manufacturers, Kerala Chamber of Commerce, Cochin Chamber of Commerce, Indian Chamber of Commerce, NASSCOM, KTM, CREDAI, Private Bus Owners Association, Vyapari Vyavasai Ekopana Samithi, Hotel and Restaurant Association, Bakers Association and CBSE School Association, has decided to unitedly move against hartal in the state. Interestingly, there are around 10 villages in the state which do not cooperate with hartals.
Raju P Nair, who spearheads ‘Say No To Hartal’ campaign, said a collective effort from the public will put pressure on the political parties against announcing hartals. ‘Say No To Hartal’ began in 2010 and its members arrange transport facilities for those stranded on hartal days. “Already, the public protest against hartal has forced political parties to reduce the number of state-wide hartals. Now, mostly district and regional-level strikes are being called by political outfits.
However, such a strike is an infringement of the rights of the public. So, by collective effort, the public should put pressure on political parties. There may be setbacks initially, but if the resistance lasts long, the political parties will have to give up hartals,” said Raju, who is also the Congress DCC secretary.
According to him, during the tenure of the UDF Government, there was a study conducted about the losses incurred during a hartal. The direct loss for the government was estimated to be around Rs 900 crore from one hartal. If indirect revenue generation is taken into consideration, the loss is more than Rs 2,000 crore.
Dr S Sajikumar, Confederation of India Industry (CII) Kerala State Council chairman and MD of Dhathri Ayurveda Pvt Ltd, said the loss from the hartal is between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 crore. “When attempts are made to attract new investors and industries to Kerala, hartals are affecting the perception of investors about the state. The production loss for the industries is severe during hartal days. The worst affected are daily wage workers. If the political parties have any consideration for these daily wage workers, they should give up this kind of protest,” he said.
S Gopakumar, president of Better Kochi Response Group which is also part of JACAH, said attempts will be made for a political solution to tackle the hartal menace. Discussions have to be held with political parties against the total shutdown during such strikes.
“Our intention is to create a collective conscience against hartal among the public. We want the public to come out against hartals. There is a general fear among the public they will be attacked and vehicles will be destroyed. If a collective drive against hartal emerges, no one can forcefully stop people from going to work or opening shops. We are looking to counter hartal using the legal channel as well.
The person who announces a hartal should be held responsible for the damage. Insurance coverage for the destruction is under discussion which will help traders and bus operators to function during hartal days,” he said.
Private Bus Operators Association president M B Sathyan said private buses are ready to operate on hartal days. A discussion will be held with traders’ organisation over sharing the damage incurred while operating buses on a hartal day. For bus owners, the hartal is a nightmare. It is estimated a bus owner suffers a loss of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 from a hartal.
“A bus owner has to pay a tax of Rs 30,000 for three months, and the insurance amount is in the range of Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000. The buses are bought by taking loans from banks for which a hefty interest is paid. For operators, the daily collection is important for survival and such strikes severely affect the revenue. Political parties have nothing to lose from the hartal. Already, due to low profit, the number of private buses is coming down annually. Earlier, when there were 30,000 private transport buses in the state, it has come down to 14,000 now,” he said.
The tourism industry is the worst hit from frequent hartals as it incurred a loss of Rs 300 crore per day. As the tourist footfalls have already come down due to the Nipah scare and the flood, the industry cannot afford frequent hartals. “Each day, there are around 70,000 tourists staying in the state.
On a hartal day, a huge number of tourist are jailed in their hotels. After suffering from the hartal, the tourists will not prefer to visit Kerala again. During a hartal last month, a convoy of German tourist was attacked at Kozhikode. Such incidents will directly affect the tourism industry,” Abraham George, convenor of Kerala Tourism Task Force and member of National Tourism Advisory Council, said.
Recently, tourism stakeholders held a meeting in Kochi and passed a six-point resolution to withstand hartals in future. They also decided to file contempt of court against non-implementation of directives by the Supreme Court and High Court against hartal. Kerala Vyapari Vyavasai Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) which held a meeting at Kozhikode decided to observe 2019 as a hartal-free year. KVVES president T Naseeruddin said traders will cooperate with hartals no more.
“We have directed all the traders to open the shops on a hartal day. The buses will operate and industries will function. Only a joint effort can put an end to this practice,” he said.
Driving with headlights on during day to register protest against hartal
Kochi: In a novel way of protest, those opposed to hartal will drive their vehicles with the headlights turned on during the day on Monday. Already publicised through social media, Say No To Hartal, the organiser of the event, is looking for mass participation.
Raju P Nair, who leads Say No To Hartal, said people who are against hartal can keep the headlight of their vehicles on during the daytime. “By joining the campaign, people are not only expressing their protest against hartal, but also emphasising protection of human rights. Every Indian citizen has the freedom to work and travel which is violated during hartals. We expect all the persons who support the campaign to keep the headlights of the motorbike, car and bigger vehicles on during the daytime on Monday,” he said.
A vehicle rally will be carried out at Kaloor Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium premises protesting against hartal around 9 am. Apart from it, district-level protests will also be carried out in the coming days. Say No To Hartal has been actively campaigning against hartal for the past eight years. The campaign is gaining popularity as more number of people are joining it every year.