Total shutdown in Kerala as Left activists observe Bharat Bandh
The state government is headed by Left parties and unions like CITU, the labour wing of the ruling CPI(M), have a deep organisational network in Kerala.
Fleets of private buses, state-owned KSRTC buses, and auto-rickshaws stayed off the roads, causing inconvenience to daily commuters and even travellers at airports and railway stations.
Trade union activists protested on the streets in major cities like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, blocking the movement of passenger buses and freight carriages.
A large section of government employees, including cabinet ministers, did not report for work, with minister for general education and labour V Sivankutty too expressing solidarity with the strike as he walked from his residence in the state capital to the local party office accompanied by activists.
'This strike has been organised to fight for the rights of labourers and against the anti-worker labour codes passed in Parliament by the Union government. In Kerala, we have already sent the message that the labour codes will not be implemented. The government must call the labour leaders for talks and discuss their demands. Policies in favour of ultra-capitalists cannot be implemented,' Sivankutty told reporters.
Banking operations were also disrupted throughout the state as employees refused to show up for work in solidarity with the national strike.
Shops and shopping malls too remained shut, while hospitals and media organisations operated uninterrupted.
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