Motor Union strike evokes partial response in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 17 (UNI) The dawn-to-dusk motor strike called by Motor Workers' Unions in Kerala today evoked partial response and no untoward incident was reported.

While private buses remained off the roads in most of the districts, the strike did not affect the public in the state capital as the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses were operating as usual.

The strike,however, partially affected goods movement.

The KSRTC operated additional services in many places and taxis and autorickshaws plied as usual.

In Kochi, private buses kept off the roads while KSRTC operated skeleton services.

A report from Kozhikode said normal life was partially affected in the Malabar region as private buses were not running. The KSRTC operated additional services for the stranded passengers.

Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts and Chengannur taluk were exempted from the strike in view of the local religious festivals.

The strike was called by the co-ordination committee of the Motor Workers Unions affiliated to various trade unions, including the CITU, INTUC, BMS and AITUC, to protest the recent fuel price hike.

Emergency services like milk, newspaper and ambulance were exempted from the strike.

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