THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The all-India strike called by the joint council of various central trade unions has impacted normal life in the state as vehicles largely kept off the roads, whiles shops and establishments remained closed.
The strike started at 12 midnight and will continue till Tuesday midnight. The nationwide hartal was announced raising multiple demands such as rescinding of the labour codes, protection of the public sector enterprises and accepting the demands of the farmers.
As many as 22 trade unions, excluding the BMS, are taking part in the strike. The KSRTC mostly suspended the usual trips, but ran urgent services to the hospitals, airports and railway stations. Though the strike organizers had announced that private vehicles will not be blocked, such incidents were reported from Pravachambalam in Thiruvananthapuram city and Uchakkada in Thiruvananthapuram rural. However, no large scale untoward incidents were reported in the state.
The functioning of the government offices were also affected as the service organizations endorsed the general strike. The KSEB , meanwhile, made special arrangements to ensure that the strike does not have a bearing on continuous power supply.
The banks also remained closed as the three prominent trade unions are backing the strike. The rail services, meanwhile, was not affected by the strike. As usual, hospitals, media and milk distribution were exempted from the strike.