THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The secretariat premises -- Kerala’s barometer for protest -- has been unusually quiet this month. No protests, no barricades, no blaring loudspeakers, no traffic diversions. Civilians and police officers alike appear relaxed. Thanks to the recent assembly elections, an eerie sense of calm has settled over the region. While most welcome the peace, there are those who have been quietly hurt by it.
Statue Junction is not just ground zero for protests -- it is a commercial hub teeming with restaurants, tea stalls, and retail shops. For many shopkeepers in the area, the protesters were a blessing in disguise. By all measures, they are now enduring an economic lull.
While hundreds of people would earlier arrive daily from various parts of the state to ‘besiege’ the secretariat with their share of protests, since the election on April 9, only a handful of protests have taken place, and that too by Thiruvananthapuram residents.
Sudhakaran Nair, who runs a roadside food stall near Statue Junction, shared his predicament.
“After elections, generally, an uneasy calm prevails in the region. But that is only a calm before the storm. Once the counting is done, things go back to what they were,” he said.
For now though, business has taken a hit, particularly with a nearly month-long gap this time between polling and counting days. “Most protesters used to come to my shop. Now, only secretariat staffers come, and that too occasionally,” Sudhakaran added.
Hotels and restaurants have not been spared either. The manager of Padma Café, a popular chain across Kerala, said the final leg of the election campaign had brought in a surge of customers, followed by a sharp drop.
“After the elections, there was a steep decline. Even room enquiries have been quite low,” he said. He recalled how protesters, after their demonstrations peak around noon, would regularly turn up at the restaurant.
Autorickshaw drivers in the region tell a similar story. Protests did cause them some inconvenience, necessitating detours and diversions, but the dispersing crowds were reliable fares. Since the election, daily rides have fallen, said an autorickshaw driver.
For the police officers on the secretariat beat, however, the quiet has brought genuine relief. Civil Police Officer Prakash attributed the calm directly to the model code of conduct in place. “Our workload has been considerably lessened. Once the results are declared, the flurry of activities will resume,” he said.
Not everyone is counting the days until the protests return. Beena, who works in the area, has in fact lost count of the times she has been caught in demonstrations. “I have got stuck in protests here many times. So, even though the calm is fleeting, for me, it is a welcome relief,” she said.