Nation-wide trade union strike disrupts life in Kerala
The Hindu
Essential services, including transportation and food delivery hit.
Normal life and commerce sputtered to a halt in Kerala on the first few hours of the nationwide general strike called by trade unions to protest against the "anti-labour" policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government., on Monday, March 28, 2022.
The 48-hour shutdown commenced on Sunday at midnight and will end at the same time on Tuesday.
The industrial action is particularly acute in Kerala, where pervasive left and Congress trade unions marshalled almost total resistance to the Centre's proposal to amend the labour laws.
The shutdown disrupted essential services, including transportation and banking. Nationalised banks will remain shut till Wednesday.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the trade unions had cautioned private banks against opening for business and that scores of ATMs across the State had run out of cash due to panic withdrawal by customers on the eve of the strike.
Online food ordering and delivery platforms, relied upon by a large segment of urban households, remained hit due to the closure of restaurants.
They will be installed at strategic locations, under the safe city project, to help in traffic management, monitor any untoward incident like road rage, hit-and-run, harassment of women, and other law and order issues round the clock. The cameras linked to the command centre can also be used for both law and order and traffic management, the officials added.