Mannera has never had a lockdown in the last 20 years. Children in the village might want to go to a nearby area to understand what a ‘hartal’ was. Photo: Google mapsThannithode (Pathanamthitta): While the rest of Kerala goes into a self-imposed lockup on every hartal day, a small village in Pathanamthitta refuses to clam up. Manneera, which is hemmed in by a thick forest from all sides, goes on with business as usual despite calls for hartals or strikes by political parties.
Manneera has never had a lockdown in the last 20 years. Children in the village might want to go to a nearby area to understand what a ‘hartal’ was. All schools, shops and other establishments stay open on all working days.
The villagers collectively decided to keep hartal at bay two decades ago after one particular hartal spurred a wave of violence. The people fought each other under the banner of political parties. The bout of violence has moved the public opinion away from hartal but the village stays as political as the rest of the state.
Manneera’s politics hots up during any election but the villagers are sensible enough not to let emotions hurt their peace of mind.
The latest hartal in Kerala witnessed a few attempts to buck the usual trend of staying home to enjoy a forced holiday.
In Othara, a group of youngsters teamed up to clear the roadsides. A collective called Yukthi (Youth Club of Thymaravumkara) cleared the wild growth on either side of the road near Kalloorkulam Junction.
The collective has also done some charity works and installed a solar LED lamp at the junction.
In Pandalam, a group of BJP activists cleaned the road on the hartal day. Municipal council chairman Subhash Kumar inaugurated the initiative by the party’s 13th booth committee to clean a stretch of the Yakshivilakkavu-Muttar road.
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