Only the dampness and the slow pace caused by the rain were visible in the city on Thursday. It was business as usual for the capital city which, like most other parts of the state, turned a blind eye to the hartal called by the Mullaperiyar Protection Council.
The attendance in all the departments in the Secretariat was almost full which itself made the city roads busy during the peak hours of morning and evening.
There were also traffic snarls, the length of which were growing owing to rain, on many of the city roads.
Asha Joy, an employee at Vikas Bhavan, where several the government organisations are functioning, said that she turned up for work as there was no problem in commuting.
State as well as the private carriages operated services as usual.
There was also no shortage of auto and taxi services and the only hardship the people found to move around was the rain, which has been lashing the city for the past many days.
Private firms also functioned as normal. Hotels and shops remained open, contrary to the usual hartal days, showing the little impact of Thursday’s hartal.