Strike is no unknown johnnie in Kerala, but it’s an entire week of strikes that the State is plunging into this time. The first major one in the strike calendar is the Opposition Congress-led UDF’s hartal against increase in price of essential goods.
Since the Kerala High Court has banned organisations from calling for ‘bandh’, in effect, bandh-like situation wears the deceptive euphemism ‘hartal’.
Since public transport is crippled, at least partially, most offices are forced to function on skeleton staff. In volumes, the worst affected is often the Kochi port, where lack of staff hit the to-and-fro movement of ship cargo.
In Kochi alone, shops and establishments stand to lose at least Rs 500 crore business through a single day’s hartal, says T Nasiruddin, president, KVVES, the State’s largest traders’ guild.
KVVES itself is not all that free from going trigger-happy over hartals. On February 23, the trader guild has exhorted a hartal, in view of its State meet in Thrissur. All commercial establishments are expected to be closed on this day. Thus Attukal Ponkala – the biggest religious convention of female pilgrims in India – on February 22 is shadowed by the commercial blackout on the next day.
Left parties, meanwhile, would hardly be caught with the crown of strikes giving them the slip. True to spirit, DYFI is going hammer and tongs on a strike package against UPA government’s policies. This included a Raj Bhavan march, according to DYFI top brass.
Not to be beaten, all-India strikes are also packing their ware into the State’s warchest of militancy this week. On February 26, BSNL employees are nationally going on strike against the sale of BSNL shares.
And for toppings, all India bank employees strike (on February 25 and 26) also falls on Kerala’s unofficial striking week. One may recall that besides bank counters, ATMs too nodded off during the last strike.
It is the lowest rung of economy that’s worst hit by the hartal-monger, says a study on Kerala hartals (2004). Daily wagers undergo a shakedown in their per-day take-home, which is not made good in the subsequent working days. Perishable goods dealers suffer losses ranging from 9.5% to 38.57% of their sales through hartals, according to the analysis by Institute of Enterprise Culture and Entreprenurship Development (IECED).
In 2003, Kerala had survived 123 bandh-like hartals in a single year. By February, 2008 is already choking with strikes. It looks as if the scepter of hartal is cocking a hearty snook at the little State once again and this time on an uncanny five-year cycle.