Transport paralysed, shops shut: How the nationwide Bharat Bandh brought Kerala to a standstill

The nationwide Bharat Bandh being held on Thursday to protest the 'anti-farmer' and 'anti-worker' policies of the central government paralysed road transport and forced shops to close in Kerala, severely hitting the common people. The impact of the strike was visible on the streets as protesters in several districts blocked vehicles. Th

The strike was called by various labour organisations against the withdrawal of anti-labour codes and to seek the restoration of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The United Farmers' Front, farmer labour organisations and various political parties, including the CPM and CPI, have announced support for the strike.

KSRTC and private buses, auto-rickshaws, and taxis remained off the road, with some areas seeing a total blockade on private vehicles. "CITU workers blocked the roads and wouldn't even let private cars pass; I couldn't get to work," said Lija Joy, a daily wage worker in Kochi. Despite these localised disruptions, the general atmosphere in Kochi remained calm. While shops were shuttered and transit was paralysed, some restaurants stayed open, and the Kochi Metro continued to operate.

However, the situation in Wayanad was a bit tense. The strike supporters engaged in an altercation with a lorry driver and reportedly hurled abuse at him after he refused to stop the vehicle. Despite the police presence in the area, the protesters refused to let the lorry go.

Protesters at the KSRTC Thampanoor depot stopped a KSRTC bus on arrival at Thiruvanathapuram, while depots in Palakkad and Chittur were ordered to suspend operations for the duration of the strike. The station is currently seeing only long-distance services that were already en route before the midnight shutdown.

As part of the nationwide Bharat bandh, CITU workers protested in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and urged the government to withdraw PPP pipeline project across central infrastructure ministries and States/Union Territories.