TRIVANDRUM, 9 February — An indefinite strike by half a million government employees in Kerala entered the third day yesterday, with strikers damaging electricity, water and telephone lines. About 230 employees, mainly senior officers, have returned to work at the Secretariat, up from 189 a day earlier, but the mass of strikers continued to stay away. The heart of the state capital yesterday witnessed a tussle between the striking employees and those who came to report for work. But the police quickly intervened to prevent violence. The employees began their strike late Tuesday to protest the slashing of financial perks by the government in the wake of a several fiscal crisis. Finance Minister K. Shankaranarayan said that the strike would lead to a loss of revenue due to a fall in octroi collection. But he said details were not immediately available. “We are determined not to backtrack on our decisions,” he said.
