THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The dawn-to-dusk statewide hartal called by the Mullaperiyar Samrakshna Samithi evoked a lukewarm response in the city, with majority of the shops opening their shutters and private vehicles, autorickshaws and KSRTC buses conducting services as usual. Though some of the shops remained closed in the morning, they also opened later after no untoward incident was reported in the city and no party workers forced traders to down shutters.
Some of the educational institutions, including professional colleges in the state, had declared a holiday in view of the hartal. The Kerala University had also postponed most of the examinations scheduled for the day. The LDF had declared moral support for the hartal only in Idukki district. However, the Kerala Congress (M) had pledged its support for the statewide hartal.