Alappuzha: Nobel laureate and world famous bio-physicist, Michael Levitt, along with his family was stranded in a houseboat in Alappuzha, when trade unionists blocked him during its cruise. Though, the tourism sector was not included in the Bharat bandh, the unruly strikers blocked the world renowned scientist.
The houseboat began its cruise yesterday from Kumarakom and was anchored for the night. In the morning the strikers prevented the boat from leaving. He got stranded in it for hours. Many other boats were also stranded because of the strikers.
Finally, the police had to come and rescue Levitt and his family. Michael Levitt came to Kerala to attend a seminar at Kerala University after the State government invited him. He went for the houseboat cruise after his visit at Kerala University.
Many houseboat owners complained that their boats were stopped from conducting services by the strikers. The tourism sector which was excluded from the strike was badly affected because of Bharat bandh.
Michael Levitt of Stanford University won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2013 for multiscale models of complex chemical systems.