By
Aditya Aamir
It was another ‘hartal’ in hartal-country
Kerala on Thursday, the fourth since September 28, 2018, and the first of 2019.
Petrified public transport buses are stranded in transport hubs across the
state and even if shops and other commercial establishments are presenting a
strong face, lack of effective police backing is palpable fear. The only public
transport buses on the road are those plying the Sabarimala route. That said,
normal life is hit and it begs answer to the question what use putting at risk
shops if customers cannot step out to shop!
Fertile women Ayyappa-darshaneers
Kanaka Durga and Bindu, who share the blame for Thursday’s ‘hartal’, are
reportedly running for their life, last seen heading towards Trichur under
police escort. Alleged RSS workers are giving hot chase. Families of both women
haven’t set eyes on them since December 24. Ayyappa-darshan comes with a price
for 10-50 age group women. At least they have the protection of a
Constitution-backed Supreme Court ruling.
It’s the Constitution which gave the
Pinarayi Vijayan regime reason and conviction to assist
“age-and-acharya-restricted” Kanaka Durga and Bindu gain entry into the
Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. The fundamental right to mobility rests on the
entire range of motor vehicles. It’s a sad commentary that buses have no
fundamental rights.
Public transport buses are the first
casualty in a ‘hartal’ situation. The most common bus-injury they sustain on
‘hartal-days’ is broken windshields. The worst is to be set on fire. Public
transport buses have never understood why ‘hartalists’ direct their ire against
them. Mere mention of the word ‘hartal’ brings buses to a grinding halt. If the
occasional bus escapes injury it is more luck than driver-ingenuity. The
relationship between bus and driver is very close and happy is the bus with a
driver who knows his ‘hartal’ well.
The bus, like the shop and commercial
establishment, is collateral victim of ‘hartal’. Wednesday, shop-owners put
shops at risk, stating that shops, hotels and restaurants will remain open
during Thursday ‘hartal’. Some shop-owners chickened out and kept shutters
down. The Traders Coordination Committee in Kochi and entities such that it in
other districts are at the forefront of the resolve to keep shops open.
It’s confusing because police cannot
guarantee protection. And those who give calls for ‘hartals’ do not care what
happens to shops and buses and commercial establishments. Morning 10 am and it
would be known whether shops and establishments are opened. The uncertainty is
killing. Mob attack on shops is devastating. The floods crippled shops but fire
is worse than water. That said life for a shop is fulfilling when goods on
shelves keep moving. Shops that don’t sell are pathetic entities.
The hartal-mob is the biggest enemy of
buses and other vehicles, shops that remain open and markets that refuse to
pull shutters down. The mob is merciless. Add to them, police going on the
front-foot, swinging lathi, and the terror is multifold. Set-upon by arsonist
and vandal, no shop, vehicle or office can stand the assault. The mindless
violence and blood-spilling on shop-floor and bus-interior is heart-rending.
What do buses have to do with Swami
Ayyappa and women’s entry into the temple? Shops, buses and commercial
establishments are secular though owners place all kinds of religious symbols
on/in them. If shops and commercial establishments fear vandals and arsonists
the most, buses have to deal with stone-throwers also. Brickbats hurled at
buses leave them shattered and stranded on roads, which themselves are
collateral victims, pitted with scars from stone-throwing and stained by fire
and water – tyres left burning on tar.
In human currency, the loss is in the
millions and billions. Destruction of property (buses, private vehicles, shops,
offices) hurts not just owners but also the property. Shops selling milk and
medicines are hurt the most. Hartals should learn to know the difference
between essential services and sport-shoes! But that is asking for too much.
The ‘hartal’ is the enemy of buses, shops and commercial establishments.
Becoming a collateral victim is no life. There are more ‘hartals’ planned for
the coming days. (IPA Service)
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