Hartal near-total in Ernakulam
The Hindu
Public transport comes to standstill, trade affected
The dawn-to-dusk hartal on Monday in support of the Bharat Bandh under the aegis of the Samyukt Kisan Morchaagainst the Union government’s farm laws, backed by various political parties, labour and trade unions, found its echo in the district with public transport coming to a standstill.
While banks and insurance companies remained open and clearing houses functioned, there was a fall in the volume of business as public transport was not available and people mostly kept indoors, also because of the bad weather condition.
The district witnessed about 6-8 mm of rain per hour throughout the day on Monday, affecting the movement of people and vehicles.
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.