Fear grips Thoothukudi

Heavy police presence across Thoothukudi deterred residents from stepping out of their houses on Friday.

Though a few buses resumed services to Tirunelveli, there were hardly any passengers and even the bus terminus looked deserted. The new and old bus terminus saw hardly any movement of people.

A few grocery shops opened in the morning to enable residents to stock up essential commodities. However, they downed shutters around 10 am.

Shops and commercial establishments continued to be closed for the fourth day on Friday. Though a few auto drivers had parked their vehicles outside the bus terminus, they were not very hopeful of ferrying passengers.

Several residents said they are not confident to come out of their homes due to heavy police presence. Surya, a worker, said people will come out and resume normal life only when the strength of the police personnel is reduced.

"How can we lead a normal life when there is police everywhere? If the government wants normalcy, they should end the heavy deployment of police," he said.

Extension of prohibitory orders till Sunday has also dampened the spirit in the port town.