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The state of Kerala, on Thursday, 4 January, witnessed protests by various outfits, mostly violent. But in an incident never seen before in the state, 24 buses of the Kerala RTC with their broken windows were paraded in a symbolic procession on the streets of Thiruvananthapuram.
Around 100 buses of the Kerala RTC were damaged during protests which erupted in the state on Wednesday and Thursday, with as many as 24 buses being damaged in Thiruvananthapuram alone.
Following the entry of two women, below the age of 50, into the Sabarimala temple, many incidents of violence were reported from different parts of the state after which a hartal was called by the Sabarimala Karma Samithi on Thursday.
And like it happens every other time, one of the main targets of the protesters was the Kerala RTC buses.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Kerala RTC CMD Tomin J Thachankary said that the loss incurred by the corporation on Wednesday and Thursday amounts to Rs 3.35 crore.
Some of the Kerala RTC staff who participated in the procession, were also seen carrying banners requesting for the buses to be spared during protests.
Ever since the Supreme Court verdict on 28 September, allowing the entry of women of all ages to the Sabarimala temple, Kerala has seen a number of hartals and violent clashes in various parts of the state. But the situation escalated on 2 January when two women below the age of 50 entered the temple during the early hours of Wednesday. Several shops were forcibly shut by unruly mobs of protesters and the ones who refused were vandalised.
(This article was originally published on The News Minute)
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