# Hunger strike and sand feast mark Thiruvonam day in Kerala 2026-08-26T17:26:27+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet On Thiruvonam day, Congress-led UDF MPs from Kerala held a hunger strike at Palakkad against the bifurcation of the Mangaluru region from the Palakkad railway division. The Railways plans to attach Mangaluru to the Mysuru division from October 1. Kerala Congress chief Sunny Joseph inaugurated the protest. Railway sources said the move would hit Palakkad division's revenue and future development. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the division would lose Rs 1,100 crore. Chief Minister V D Satheesan has urged the PM to reconsider. Separately, job aspirants who cleared Kerala PSC exams held a symbolic 'sand feast' outside the secretariat. They accused the state government of failing to act on assurances that their appointment delays would be resolved. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Palakkad railway division dates to the British era, when the Southern Mahratta Railway linked Mangaluru with the peninsula. A revenue loss of Rs 1,100 crore represents nearly a third of the division's annual earnings, according to a 2023 railway board estimate. The bifurcation follows a 2022 reorganisation plan that the Southern Railway board approved but Kerala opposed. The Kerala Public Service Commission, which sets appointment timelines, had posted a vacancy list for 12,000 posts in February but has not scheduled the next counselling round. The secretariat protest is the latest in a series of sit-ins by applicants who have cleared written exams since 2021. The state assembly's committee on assurances reviews the government's reply in September. ## Coverage - deccanherald.com Leads with protest drama over railway bifurcation and PSC delay, then quotes railway sources and opposition figures but gives little government response. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Kerala, Kerala Public Service Commission, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Palakkad Railway Division, United Democratic Front Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/hunger-strike-and-sand-feast-mark-thiruvonam-day-in-kerala/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/hunger-strike-and-sand-feast-mark-thiruvonam-day-in-kerala/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/