Thiruvananthapuram, April 8
A strike called by transporters, fishermen and farmers\' unions affected normal life in Kerala on Wednesday, with villages and coastal areas the worst hit.

Shops and establishments did not open across the state in response to the 12-hour general strike that ends at 6 p.m.

Few public vehicles plied in cities. Most villages were cut off due to lack of public transport in the countryside, residents and police reports said.

All university examinations scheduled on Wednesday have been postponed. Most private offices were closed and attendances in government offices was well below normal.

The Transport Workers Union has called the strike to protest against what it says is the indiscriminate hike in insurance premiums and fuel price.

The farmers union is furious over falling prices of cash crops, especially rubber.

The Kerala Fisheries Coordination Committee is ranged against the recommendations of a report which advocates the use of deep sea vessels, saying it would kill their traditional profession.

Activist takes on Left during Kerala shutdown

An anti-shutdown activist was roughed up here on Wednesday when he questioned a CPI-M legislator on how he could travel in a car while the freedom of travel was restricted for others.

Kerala on Wednesday faced its third shutdown this year.

Activist Raju P. Nair told the media that while they were waiting at the railway station here, they spotted two prominent Left politicians.

A group of activists \'Say No to Hartals\' are against shutdowns and for the past year, Nair and his activists have provided free transport to the needy who arrive at railways stations on shutdown days.

\"CPI-M legislator A. Pradeep Kumar got down from the train and got into a car. I asked him if it\'s good that while freedom of travel of all others is restricted, how come you travel in the car? When I said this, the person along with him pushed me aside,\" said Nair.

Wednesday\'s shutdown has been called by various organisations to protest the hike in insurance premiums and fuel price. Few public vehicles are plying in the city areas and the villages have been cut off as no vehicles are operating in the countryside.

Nair and his team also spotted former CPI state secretary Paniyan Ravindran at the railway station. A vehicle was waiting to pick him up.

\"We asked him how come he moves around, when they say that all should remain at home during shutdown days. But he was very cool and gave us a reply which was least convincing,\" said Nair.

A determined Nair said: \"We will fight this menace of shutdowns till its logical conclusion... more and more people are joining \'Say No to Hartals\' movement. Right now they have units in most of the central districts and they are spreading to other areas also.\"

Shutdown hits Kerala