Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 20 (IANS): With festivals, strikes and protests lined up for the next two weeks in Kerala, the 'holiday season' has begun in the state.

Beginning Saturday, a three-day public holiday was declared on account of Eid-ul-Fitr, and it's going to be a virtual holiday for the state government offices Tuesday owing to the strike called by the Left and Bharatiya Janata Party-backed employees to protest the contributory pension scheme for all new state government employees from next fiscal.

On Wednesday, it's the turn of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to protest in front of the state secretariat and all the 14 district collectorates against the price rise of essential items.

Thanks to the two-day nationwide strike on Wednesday and Thursday (Aug 22 and 23) against the central government's decision to amend banking laws through a legislation, normal banking operations would be hit in the state.

It leaves Keralites with just a couple of working day in the next week - Friday and Saturday.

The harvest festival of Onam begins Aug 27 (Monday) and the next four days, including Aug 31 when Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi will be celebrated in the state, have been declared holidays.

With weekend beginning Sep 1, it would only be on Sep 3 when majority of offices in Kerala would resume work.

Some educational institutions in the state have already declared Onam vacations and would reopen only on Sep 3.

Early disbursement of salaries to state government employees is expected to begin soon.