Thiruvananthapuram: Private buses and lorries did not ply in several places as the 12-hour-long motor vehicle strike, called by a joint committee of trade unions on Tuesday to protest the spiralling fuel price in the country, evoked only partial response in many parts of Kerala.
Public transport was hit in many districts as the state-run KSRTC operated only one third of its services.
While private buses and heavy vehicles like trucks and lorries kept off the roads in a majority of places, autorickshaws and taxis could be seen plying.
Private vehicles, both two wheeler and four wheeler, could be seen operating everywhere as on any other normal day.
Police ferried people who arrived here from far-off places for treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre, Government Medical College and other institutions.
The agitation was called by 'Samyuktha Samara Samithi', an umbrella organisation of various trade unions.
While the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a pro-BJP union, kept away from the agitation, all other major trade unions including the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) extended support.
Various outfits, affiliated to these trade unions, took out protest march in district headquarters, expressing solidarity with the strike. Though traders' associations also expressed 'moral support' to the stir, shops remained open across the state.
However, most of the examinations scheduled for the day were postponed.
Exams cancelled
• The SSLC, Plus-Two and VHSE model exams scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed to March 8.
• Mahatma Gandhi University and Calicut University have postponed all exams scheduled for Tuesday. Revised dates will be notified later.
• The APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) have also postponed the exams scheduled for Tuesday.
• The entrance exam for MA Museology to be held at the Kalady Sanskrit University on Tuesday has also been postponed. The revised date will be notified later.
(With inputs from PTI)
