KOCHI: With the hartal being total, the city turned into a virtual ghost town. On most lanes and by lanes, shop shutters were down, traffic thinned to a trickle and streets were generally bare except for one or two passers-by and stray dogs. But the railway stations remained abuzz with activity even though there was a general decline in traffic. Passengers made their way to the station using their own private vehicles or sought the help of friends and relatives. But the ones worst hit were passengers from other cities and tourists. Many of them were completely unaware of the strike.Levin Lev and his wife Olga Levin are Russians settled in London. They had arrived at Ernakulam North Station after their visit to Thiruvanathapuram. But their guide, who brought them tickets to Kochi had not informed them about the hartal. “He did not know about it, I think. We got to know of it only when we were trying to catch an auto,” they said. After arriving at the North station, the couple were clueless about how to proceed further through the city. “People do have a right to demand and go on strikes. But nobody informed us about this strike. We wish there was some mechanism to inform tourists and others,” said Levin.Difficult as the situation was for most tourists, many resigned to it, accepting it as part of the ‘Indian experience’ “When I came to India I was prepared for anything,” said Vitus Angermeier, beaming. Vitus is a student of Ayurveda on a visit to the state. He had no clue how to find accommodation or food but was perfectly sanguine about the situation. “When I ask people, they usually guide me.” Vitus was also in full support of the hartal. “The streets are nice and quiet now. Usually it’s very noisy. So it feels good now,” said the Austrian. But not all tourists, even Indian, were as forgiving. “We have been sitting in the station for six hours waiting for our train,” said Rakesh Chadda from Madhya Pradesh. He was with a 17 member group consisting of women and little children. “We were at Alleppey, the people at our hotel did alert us about the situation. So we started at three in the morning and came to Ernakulum,” he said.For Rakesh and his family, the hartal has been a blemish on their Kerala trip. “The people and the places are all good. But I can’t help but say that the political system is horrible. We do have strikes in MP too, but it’s never as rigid as this,” said Rakesh, moving towards his train after an exhaustive wait. Many of the passengers put themselves up at nearby lodges and hotels. “Five families arrived yesterday and today morning. They will remain in the hotel rooms till tomorrow. But this figure is less. Usually when the hartals are announced without prior notice, there are lot more people”, said K B Naushad Manager of Hotel Classic near the Ernakulam North Railway Station. Many of the lodges and hotels were also rumored to be charging extra on hartal days, even though hotel managers and owners vehemently deny the allegations. Some of them are not providing food either. “Usually there are a number of restaurants nearby, so we don’t need food from the hotels. But now with all the shops and restaurants closed, it is difficult for the guests,” said Naushad.
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