[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I think there is an HC order to this effect somewhere. Needs immediate implementation.

The court order (don't remember HC or SC) was against 'Bandh's', to get over this hurdle Bandh's got renamed as 'Hartal's'

[sharoncr_17]

WRT the recent harthal against implementing the Kasturirangan Report, the Hon'ble High Court had asked a very simple question:

"Have the political parties gone through the Kasturirangan Report?"

[joybhowmik]

Incident narrative:
There had been a communally sensitive incident at a spot, which was enroute to my vacation destination. Naturally, we were held up on the main highway. We made the opportune decision to turn around to seek an alternative route.
As luck would have it, we came across a 'protest march' by one of the communities - and their sheer numbers on the street meant that no vehicle could avoid them. It was fairly evident, that they were riled up. We had an out of state car, I decided to roll down the windows, park on the shoulder, and turned off the car.
We were very afraid, as it was evident from the red silk cloth (of religious significance) hanging from the RVM , that we were indeed from the other community.
A few hard stares at us were met by impassive expressions, and once the road cleared, we proceeded on our way.

Phew!

Lesson learnt:
Don't show fear.
Don't confront.
Remain in the car.
Don't be a braveheart.
Drive away at the earliest opportunity.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Got stuck for almost 2 hours this Saturday. I was on my way to Wayanad only to be flagged off by the localites orchestrating the Harthal.

It's not just the goons, even the localites were happy to be part of the strike. Right from 7 to 70, therewhere people of every age group who were happy to see other people suffer and being threatened.

Almost all of them were very drunk, and near one checkpost, they were fighting with each other.

There were couple of buses with Christian missionary Nuns and loads of teenage females. In any other South Indian state, I would see women and children being taken to safety. But here, checkpost after checkpost the buses were made to stop for indefinite time. No one was bothered to even think about how the women and the children would suffer. They had no access to water, food, toilets, etc..

It was very shameful to see all the people being absolutely cruel even to Women and Children, not just in one town but in every other town. I'm still unable to comprehend it. Couldn't see even a bit of humanity in any one of them.

God's Own Country should be renamed as Devil's Own Country!!!

This has been the situation in Wayanad, be it a hartal or any festival of a particular community. Since, it (especially Sulthan Bathery) shares borders with both KA and TN, all kind of anti social elements make hay there, as they can easily flee to either of the states.

[deetjohn]

There was another hartal yesterday at Kerala. And glad to see this in Hindu today. The humane faces on hartal day

As Kerala observed one more dawn-to-dusk hartal on Tuesday, a group of youngsters refused to take it as an excuse for switching into a laid-back mode. Instead, they decided to use the occasion for sending a strong message to the political parties — not to mess with their lives.

Members of ‘Bullethood’, a Kochi-based biker club, volunteered to transport hundreds of passengers from the railway station here to their destinations on their two-wheelers. They even dropped passengers to regions as far as Aluva town and Fort Kochi.

“We decided do some good work on the hartal day, as we have been doing for the past one year,’’ Roban Gilbert, club president, said.

Similarly, the Say No To Hartal Campaigners operated dawn-to-dusk services in their own private vehicles at free of cost to help victims of the ‘unconstitutional form of protest’. “We operated a fleet of 22 vehicles from different locations of the city, all displaying ‘Say no to hartal’ stickers on them. Most of the passengers transported during the day were patients who had reached the city seeking specialty treatment from far away places,” said Raju P Nair, general convener of the organisation. Operating the services on a hartal day, however, was not an incident-free affair as they faced attacks at five locations. “If the political parties want to take out their angst on us, let them do so, but we will go ahead with our mission’’, he said.

[supremeBaleno]

@deetjohn, thanks for posting that bit of encouraging news.

It is indeed time that we (the people) take up action against such unconstitutional forms of protest. Yes, a life was lost, which is unfortunate, irrespective of which political party he belonged to and law should take its own course, like it would for any other non-political murder, scores of which happen daily.

But to halt all activity in a state for this and disturb the lives of lakhs of people is not just done. Earlier, it was the Left/Centre parties that used to indulge in this. Now with power at the centre, the Right parties are flexing their muscles.

P.S.: I have been working in Chennai for so many years now and don't remember even a single day that I could not get to work due to any hartal/bandh (irrespective of whether it was called by ruling or opposition party).

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The humane faces on hartal day

Of late I often find myself wondering whether I can help one of hundreds of office-goers and commuters stranded due to the incessantly agitating buses and taxi unions in Kolkata (every week is a taxi strike and also many buses have been off the roads for months protesting against no fare rise). The situation is particularly bad on my daily commute which is along the bypass - where huge mobs of people keep occupying half the road waiting for a bus or a 'share' taxi (private chauffeured cars making a quick buck). I have considered stopping and giving a lift but am worried of being mobbed.

Self and wife were driving through Kerala on 20 Aug 2014 from Palaruvi to Poovar via Thenmala, Kulathupuzha, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram and Kovalam. The details are here. After bathing at Palaruvi, we wanted to lunch at the next available decent eatery as we were both hungry. But, much to our chagrin, we found all the hotels, eateries and other establishments were closed in all the towns. Finally, we stopped at Kulathupuzha and enquired with an elderly gentleman regarding the nearest eatery. We were shocked to learn that there was a strike going on that fateful day in the entire Kottayam district called by the traders' and farmers' associations and we won't be getting anything to eat until we reach the next district! We found one Murugan Tea Stall was functioning on the main road. But, only neiyappams [rice pancakes fried in ghee] and onion vadas were available apart from tea. We had sumptuous and delicious lunch comprising many neiyappams and onion vadas washed down by tea. The total bill was ₹ 49 for two. That lunch was the most delicious and economical one we had in the recent times!

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

There was another hartal yesterday at Kerala. And glad to see this in Hindu today. The humane faces on hartal day

Nice to see what started in Hyderabad on 19th Aug (Telangana Survey day and not a hartal) is spreading across the country.

Source link:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/40506017.cms

When the city shutdown for the survey, about 50 members of a city biking group stepped in and gave free rides to stranded commuters.

On Tuesday morning, a middle aged couple got off the train at Nampally Railway Station to be greeted by a deserted area with no transport. Then, they saw a group of bikers who offered them a free ride. The happy couple, after a small chat, rode pillion to their home at Yakutpura. And just like this couple, many other stranded commuters got surprise help from over 50 bikers from a group named Wanderers Bulleteers of Hyderabad, who spread themselves across major junctions in the city, like railway stations, bus stops and more, and offered free rides.

Rahool Saxena, member of the group, who was the brain behind the idea, said, "In the past, many of us have been stranded due to non-availability of public transport during such shutdowns. On Monday night, it struck me that why not do something to help all those who might be stranded? I spread the message to other group members and by Tuesday morning, about 50 of us got together and went to different parts of the city in batches"

Another biker and dentist, Syed Faheem, who dropped an Ahmedabad student from Abids to Ameerpet said, "People weren't asking for lifts, so we had to approach them and when we offered help, it was a pleasant surprise for them. This guy was stranded at Abids for nearly two hours. So, when I offered to help him, he was extremely grateful"

But it wasn't all hunky-dory. Some passengers got intimidated. Derick Saldanha, a 25-year-old IT professional, said, "I was dressed in my biking gear, so, when I approached people, they were scared to accept help. Only when I took off my helmet and explained the concept did they agree to take the ride"

Derick dropped a Karnataka girl from Mehdipatnam Bus Stand to Ameerpet. Preema Mascrances, a 22-year-old student who came to the city on Tuesday morning said, "When I reached the bus stop, there was no transport. Some autos were there, but the drivers asked for three-four times the fare. Then, this guy came to me. Initially, I got scared. But when he dropped me off, I gave him contact details of another friend who was stranded elsewhere and another person from the group helped her too"

Talking about the initiative, MA Kaleem, a 70-year-old member of the club, said, "It was a last minute plan and we got tremendous response."

[sharoncr_17]

I happened to drive around 150 kms during last week's hartal in Kerala.
As a precaution I had 'AIRPORT' pasted on the fr & rr.
I talked without any issues. Maybe political parties have become responsible...or was it just my plain luck

[supremeBaleno]

Not a hartal, but a transport strike today. Shops are open, but no buses plying (Govt or private).

Good day to take your bike out for a spin on the almost empty roads (except for some cars and bikes). Rode from Mavelikara to Kollam just now and it was one of the best rides I had.

[adabass]

Hi Everyone - I had travel plans to travel from Hyderabad to Dindi (500 KM - 8 hr drive) tomorrow. I just found out that there is a nationwide bandh called tomorrow. I already have a 3 day hotel booking done. Can anyone comment if it will be safe to travel? I will be travelling with my wife and small kid.

[sidzz]

It will be advisable to postpone the plan since you will have your wife and child with you.

Violence may break out at parts as it was seen in Bangalore some time back.

If no resort then plan to leave as early in the morning possible.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by adabass

Hi Everyone - I had travel plans to travel from Hyderabad to Dindi (500 KM - 8 hr drive) tomorrow. I just found out that there is a nationwide bandh called tomorrow. I already have a 3 day hotel booking done. Can anyone comment if it will be safe to travel? I will be travelling with my wife and small kid.

Obviously the safest option is to avoid travel. But if you do have to travel, leave from home early (typically bandh timing is 6AM - 6PM). As I read it, the bandh is called by left trade unions - they are strong in states like Kerala, so impact will be more. Doubt they are that strong in AP.

[docel]

Hello friends,
Is the Gundlupet Wayanad traffic open today and tomorrow?
Planning to drive from Bangalore to Wayanad tomorrow.

Thanks in advance :-)