Thiruvananthapuram: The sudden hartal declared by Sangh Parivar outfits, triggered by arrest of Hindu Aikyavedi leader Sasikala, left hundreds stranded at Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway station and KSRTC terminal, Thampanoor on Saturday.Police vehicles came to the aid of those who were heading to Medical College Hospital and Regional Cancer Centre, while others had to wait till a section of taxi and auto rickshaw drivers started service by noon.A group of 24 students from Fisat, Angamaly, who reached the city to attend a workshop organized by College of Engineering Trivandrum came to know about the hartal only after boarding the train.“We had already planned our stay, as the workshop is scheduled for Sunday,” said Job Sajan John, a student. They got a cab after waiting for over three hours.A family from Uttar Pradesh, who were on a pilgrimage, were also stranded, “We are not staying in the city and will be leaving in evening train to Rameswaram, after visiting Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. We will walk to the temple and wait at the station till our train arrives,” said Shambhunath Trivedi, a businessman. As Saturday was the first day of Malayalam month Vrishchikam, which is considered auspicious, several people from neighbouring districts were in the city to pray at Padmanabha Swamy temple, Attukal temple and Karikkakom temple.“My wife and I visit Attukal temple on first day of every Malayalam month. We boarded bus from Vithura at 4am to Attukal temple. No one including the bus crew informed us about the hartal, else we would have cancelled the trip. Now, we have no option than to wait till the strike is over. We had breakfast, thanks to Indian Coffee House, which was open,” said Chandran Babu.As KSRTC buses remained off road, most people waited for auto rickshaws that passed by occasionally. “A few auto rickshaw drivers tried to fleece us as there was no other transport available. We had to wait for some time at the railway station to travel on meter fare,” said Sushamma V, a homemaker from Kollam.Prepaid auto rickshaw counters at the station and bus terminal did not function till evening, while the online food delivery facilities came to the rescue of people as hostels remained shut.At Enikkara and Balaramapuram, vehicles were blocked.

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