THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 12-hour motor strike called by various trade unions and vehicle operators in protest against the Central Government’s failure to control fuel prices, affected passengers.
Public transport buses, including private and most of the KSRTC buses, autos, taxis and freight vehicles, kept off the road. Barring one incident of protesters attacking an autorickshaw driver for carrying passengers at Thampanoor, the strike remained largely peaceful.
Private vehicles were not stopped by protestors. KSRTC could operate only 191 schedules on Wednesday. At railway stations public waited long hours to get vehicles. The strike affected people who had to go to interior locations. Police vehicles were roped in to ferry passengers heading to Medical College.
As the Assembly was in session, a few ministers including K T
Jaleel and T P Ramakrishnan were seen walking to the Assembly complex to mark their support for the strike.
The BMS had kept away from the strike. A meeting called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to persuade the trade unions from strike ended in failure on Tuesday.