KOCHI: It was a day when the entire city came to a standstill. But the worst affected by the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the LDF and the BJP were the commuters and employees of small companies who usually rely on restaurants for food. With most of the restaurants in the city remaining closed on Monday, these people had a tough time to fill their empty stomachs.The only relief was police canteens. Janamaithri Police hotel at Thevara functioned the whole day giving a major relief for many in the city. “Hartal day is really hard for people like us who live without family. We have to depend on the hotels for food, but since all hotels are closed we will have nothing to eat. Since it is dawn-to-dusk hartal, the hotels won’t open even in the night. We will be very lucky if we can find any night eatery open,” said Raju Prasad a graphic designer in Kaloor. Interestingly, when hotels and restaurants were shut down, business was as usual at some of the toddy shops in the city that remained open throughout the day. A manager of a toddy shop near the bus station said that rush was high on the hartal day. However, the major gainers of the day were auto drivers who were on their fleecing spree. When ‘Express’ enquired about the auto fare from South Railway Station, the auto drivers demanded Rs. 350 towards Naval Base and Rs. 400 towards Kaloor. Several private vehicles also plied as taxies from railway stations and bus stations. Even the police pressed into service police vehicles taking many stranded travellers to different parts of the city.
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