Bangalore bandh draws mixed response; normal life affected partially

City life was partially affected as traders and shop keepers downed shutters in several market areas in the Central Business District

A day-long Bangalore bandh, called by pro-Kannada organisations against sexual assault on women and children, elicited mixed response. Life in the city was partially affected as traders and shopkeepers downed shutters in several market areas in the Central Business District. The shops were closed in the busy K R Market area, Avenue Road, B V K Iyengar Road, K G Road and other parts of the city.

While the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) did not support the bandh, their buses were plying, though on a skeletal basis. Many autorickshaws were seen plying as usual. Most of the private schools were closed while the government schools and colleges functioned as usual. However, malls, shopping complexes and multiplexes remained shut till 6 pm, while single-screen cinema halls cancelled their morning and noon shows.

Government offices and banks functioned normally. Several IT companies declared holiday while asking their em- ployees to work on Saturday. Essential services were more or less normal as they were exempt from the bandh called by ‘Kannada Okoota’, an umbrella body of several Kannada organisations led by Vatal Nagaraj, former MLA, which had called the dawn-to-dusk bandh call, demanding severe punishment to the perpetrators of sexual offences.

The bandh call was also to protest the high handedness of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) in Belgaum district’s Yellur village. The MES had raised a Marathi flag in the village and put up a board stating that the village belongs to Maharashtra.

The protesters took out two separate processions from Malleswaram and Town Hall to Freedom Park in the City Centre.

The police had made extensive security arrangements all across the city. Apart from the city police, many platoons from the KSRP and CRPF had been deployed to prevent any untoward incidents. Except an incident of stone throwing on a city bus, there were no major untoward incidents in the city.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reviewed the bandh situation in the city along with Home Minister K J George, DG and IG of Police Lalrokuma Pachau and police commissioner M N Reddi.

Reddi told reporters that BMTC and KSRTC buses were running at near full capacity. He said, normal life had not been disrupted in the city. The police also prevented attempts by the protestors to gherao the CM’s home office. However, they were allowed to submit a memorandum to the chief minister at his residence.

It is also reported that the police stopped Tamil Nadu buses from plying towards Karnataka at Hosur on the inter-state border.

The bandh comes after the public outrage over the alleged gangrape of a six-year-old girl at Vibgyor High school on July 3 that drew widespread condemnation with the government and police coming in for criticism.

The bandh was also observed in Chikkaballapur, Gauribidanur, Siddlaghatta and Bagepalli.