The dawn-todusk hartal called separately by the LDF and the BJP in the state on Saturday to protest against the diesel price hike and curbs proposed on supply of LPG cylinders for households, was total in the state.
The hartal was by and large peaceful, though there were stray incidents of violence.
A person was stabbed at Chottanikkara and a KSRTC bus lost control near Muvattupuzha after unidentified hartal supporters pelted stones at the vehicle.
A vehicle belonging to ‘Jai Hind TV’ was attacked at Pongumood here. Shops and establishments remained closed throughout the state.
KSRTC operated some short distance services on convoy basis. Private bus services kept off the road.
Police had made arrangements for transportation of commuters arriving at important railway stations at various places.
There was no disruption of train services anywhere. Attendance in the offices was thin. Protest marches were taken out by both the LDF and the BJP here and at district centres.
LDF activists burnt Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in effigy in front of the Secretariat.
CPI state secretary Pannyan Raveendran inaugurated the protest meeting here at the end of the march.
He said that the hartal has been taken over by the people, owing to the fact that most of the policies of the both the central and state governments, the latest being the diesel price hike and restrictions on LPG cylinders, is bound to cause misery to the lives of ordinary people.