The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Mullaperiyar Protection Council in the wake of the Supreme Court order in the Mullaperiyar Dam case hit normal life in Idukki district but evoked little response in other districts across the state.

The hartal was called to express apprehensions of the people over the apex court order yesterday which rejected most of the contentions of Kerala, including the demand for construction of a new dam in the long-drawn dispute with Tamil Nadu.

Local agitators group had for long been demanding construction of a new dam in the place of the 119-year-old structure, holding that it posed a grave threat to the life and property of people in Idukki, where the dam is located, and four other districts in the Central Travancore region.

Shops remained closed in towns like Kumali and Chappath close to the dam area where the protesters had gathered in large numbers since yesterday.

Police said security had been stepped in border towns, especially at the road entry points through which inter-state buses and trucks pass through.

While major political parties refrained from backing the hartal, the ruling UDF had extended limited support to it within the Idukki district.

The Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut and Cochin universities have cancelled the examinations scheduled for the day.

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