IDUKKI: Munnar returned to normal life on Monday after remaining isolated for nine days owing to the stir by several thousands of women labourers of the Kanan Devan Hills Plantation (KDHP) company.
The major tourist hub of the state got a revival with the surge in number of tourists visiting places such as Mattupetty, Anayirangal, Rajamala and Echo Point. “The day saw a flow of local tourists from nearby districts. A significant rise in the number of visitors is experienced today after a few days’ decline,” said Munnar Hotels and Resorts Association general secretary Aneesh P Varghese.
The markets also got active with local people and tourists thronging the shops in Munnar town. Meanwhile, the KDHP women labourers, who were on an agitation demanding 20 per cent bonus and a minimum of Rs 500 as daily wages, took out a victory procession along all the paths, including small country roads, and thanked each and everyone they met in between for supporting their stir. They also visited the shops to thank one and all as some of the shoppers besides a few cultural organisations and religious outfits had offered them tea and snacks while they were on strike.
Then they gathered at the High Altitude Stadium in old Munnar and expressed their happiness over success by hugging and kissing each other. They also lifted up Indrani and Gomathi, the two women who talked to the mediapersons representing them. They held a meeting to take some important decisions to resume their strike in case the company backtracks from its decisions to pay 20 per cent bonus and increase their daily wages after the Plantation Labour Committee (PLC) meeting on September 26. They also decided to form an independent union in order to attend the labour committee meetings.
They would select representatives among themselves from each division for the same.
The women thanked all political parties, media and police for supporting their agitation and finding their demands just.