Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 (IANS): Kerala is back to the "old normal" at a time when the whole world is moving towards a "new normal", as another hartal day was celebrated in the state, said technocrat G. Vijaya Raghavan here on Monday.
The Bharat Bandh observed in Kerala is near total as barring private vehicles, no public transport is in operation and shops, establishments, markets are all closed and that too it's on a day when the World Tourism Day is being celebrated.
Raghavan is the first CEO of the now fledgling Technopark -- the IT headquarters of the state, located in the state capital city and served as a member in the Kerala State Planning Board, besides being one of the most sought after personality, every time a new IT company set its sights to set shop in the state.
Known for his cryptic comments, Raghavan visibly upset on the total shutdown in the state, said he is not questioning the cause for which the hartal has been called or discussing the merits or demerits of the agitation.
"One thing that we will all notice is that across the country it is called a 'bandh' in Kerala it is 'hartal'. Across the country except for certain small pockets life is normal while in Kerala life is disrupted, in most places in Kerala people were forced to close their shops and establishments. Government run KSRTC stopped working, all exams were postponed," said Raghavan.
"When I checked with people around the country I was told that farmers are protesting but that has not affected other businesses or factories from functioning and except in areas where there are protest marches etc life is normal. In fact that is the case even in Punjab and Haryana," pointed out the technocrat.
He further said that the common man is the worst affected as they have no means to protect themselves and are forced to stay away from work and they get no wage and a day's income is lost.
"It is high time we change our methods of protest. A protest is successful and makes an impact only when it affects the person or group of persons against whom the protest is targeted at. What is happening in Kerala is we are proving to the world that, come what may, we will continue with our dated forms of protest without realising the damage that this is being inflicted to the state and the impact it will have on the biggest mission of the state to create new jobs," he said.
"One thing is sure Kerala is back to the 'old normal' while the whole world is moving towards a 'new normal'," added Raghavan.