Home bound

KOCHI: The 12-hour hartal called by the Left parties and the BJP in Kerala affected the functioning of many offices in the city.The hartal had a  bearing on the entire operations of the  shipping fraternity in Willingdon Island, though it did not affect the functioning of the Cochin port. Only 50 per cent attendance was registered at the port office. The management had arranged boat services to key points to pick up their employees, as per the shift schedule, said port authorities.Meanwhile, two crew members who had to report for duty on board ASEAN cable ship had to remain in their hotel room as no vehicles were available. “These crew members had to sign on Monday, but they stayed back in the hotel room itself,” said Santhosh, agent of the ship.IT companies in the info park also witnessed a fall in the attendance. “Altogether only 40 per cent of employees turned up for duty today. But functioning has been more or less  smooth. Those who have their own vehicles have come,” said  a top official of info park.The Cochin Special Economic Zone authorities said the functioning of industrial unit in the zone was not affected. Authorities of Nest Technologies, which functions in the SEZ said that there was a fall by 40 per cent in attendance in their office, but it did not affect the operations.