Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala once had the dubious honour of the state which witnessed the maximum number of hartals in the country. However, effective intervention of the High Court and the state government to curb the menace has yielded excellent results. In fact, the number of hartals observed in Kerala has come down drastically from 120 in 2017 to a mere 12 in 2019 so far.

Of the 12 hartals of 2019, two were nationwide strikes that had turned into hartals. A proof of the changed scenario is that one month – April – alone in 2018 had witnessed 12 hartals. Another statistic reflecting the changed situation is that in 2019 only five statewide hartals took place in the state compared to 98 in 2018.

This year, there were long gaps between shutdowns. For instance, after a regional hartal at Chithara in Kollam on March 3 this year, the next similar protest was called six months later in the state.

It is estimated that Kerala suffers a loss of Rs 2,000 crore a day when all trade, industrial and service activities in the private as well as public sectors come to a standstill.

In a historic judgment, the Kerala High Court had in January 2019 ordered that a call for hartal should be given at least seven days in advance. The court also said that the people issuing the call would be held responsible for any violence or destruction taking place during the protest.

Following the High Court order, the state government promulgated an ordinance making damage to public property during hartals punishable and under the new law, violations invite life imprisonment along with a fine.