The hartal called by an array of groups protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) evoked partial response in Palakkad and Malappuram districts on Tuesday.
When the KSRTC conducted services with police protection, private buses and taxies kept off the road.
Shops and business establishments in most towns in Palakkad and Malappuram remained closed.
Lathicharge
The police resorted to a lathicharge to disperse a mob of hartal supporters in front of the KSRTC depot in Palakkad town.
Police foiled the attempts of the hartal supporters to disrupt the KSRTC services from the town depot.
KSRTC conducted 30-odd services to Coimbatore, Kozhikode, Guruvayur, Pollachi and Thrissur. However, several services were disrupted because of the hartal.
Schools
Most schools functioned as normal as the mid-term examinations were on ahead of closing for the Christmas vacation. However, there was a dip in attendance as a section of parents chose not to send their children to school by risking the hartal.
Some CBSE schools in Malappuram, however, did not function. Most colleges did not function as there were no private bus services. Police arrested dozens of hartal supporters who took out protest marches demanding that the people join the hartal. Many were taken into preventive custody in order to have a tight control over the situation. Stones were pelted at KSRTC buses at many places. A Tamil Nadu StateTransport Corporation’s bus was damaged by the hartal supporters near Walayar.
