KOZHIKODE/KOCHI: It could be the perfect piece of news the state can have as it gets ready to welcome the new year. The state’s tourism industry and trading community on Thursday decided to defy hartal calls by political parties and other organisations from next year.
The traders under Kerala Vyapara Vyavasai Ekopana Samithi (KVVES), which comprises 36 associations, met in Kozhikode and took a decision to open all shops on every hartal day. They also decided to observe 2019 as anti-hartal year.
“Buses will run, lorries will ply with goods while shops and establishments will function as on a normal day,” said KVVES president T Naseeruddin.In Kochi, tourism stakeholders under Kerala Tourism Task Force, which consists of 28 organisations allied to the sector, also vowed not to cooperate with hartals anymore. The Task Force also decided to move court over non-implementation of Supreme Court and High Court directives on hartal.
Frequent hartals hit where it hurts
In the current year alone, there were 97 hartals called by various political parties in Kerala. While the general public is invariably inconvenienced, traders incur losses to the tune of J2,000 crore on hartal days