Intensifying the agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a large number of Muslims, owning business establishments here downed their shutters to show their protest on Friday.
As the trade and industry associations and other recognised bodies had not acknowledged the protest, shops owned by non-Muslims in the region functioned as usual.
The secular parties, which had been opposing the implementation of the CAA by the Centre had recently conducted signature campaign in Tamil Nadu and had been staging a number of demonstrations.
Last week, after the police allegedly lathi-charged the demonstrators in Washermenpet in Chennai, the stir gathered momentum.
In the district, other than bazaar areas, Bharathi Nagar and Pattanamkathan, shops were closed in Keelakarai and Devipattinam as well. Demonstrations were held in Ramanathapuram Sandhai, Devipattinam and other areas in which functionaries from the Congress, DMK, VCK and a number of Muslim outfits and Jamaaths participated.
Police pickets were posted in vantage locations in the district and there were no untoward incidents in the coastal pockets, police added.