Bandh peaceful in Bengaluru; lukewarm response in north Karnataka

The Karnataka bandh called to protest the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu passed off peacefully in Bengaluru — the second time the tech hub shut down in the week — with the city police remaining a step ahead of the protesters.

The call for bandh was given by Vatal Nagaraj-led ‘Kannada Okkuta’, an umbrella outfit of pro-Kannada and other organisations, evoked a good response in the state capital and brought Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts to a complete halt.

In north Karnataka, there was lukewarm response to the bandh; other parts of the state saw no impact. 

Nagaraj exited his residence in trademark style — wearing a burqa and holding an empty plastic water pot on his head — and with a sea of supporters behind him, arrived at the Town Hall at around 11.40 am.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda briefly oversaw the security at Town Hall. 

Shortly after Nagaraj’s arrival, police detained him, along with his supporters, and moved them to Freedom Park. “The bandh was successful despite efforts by the government and the police to sabotage it,” Nagaraj told DH. “Notices were sent to us and a large number of police were deployed to spoil our plans. Despite this, the state came to a halt.”

Incident-free bandh

Commissioner Dayananda said the day was largely incident-free and close to 1,500 protesters gathered at Freedom Park. “As many as 785 protesters were detained. Some tried to protest and hold rallies in different parts of the city, but they were detained,” he said. 

Unlike Tuesday's shutdown in Bengaluru, a majority of shops and hotels remained shut. Most of the autorickshaws remained off the roads and services of Ola and Uber were largely inaccessible. 

Members of the Namma Karnataka Sene led by its state president Basavaraja Padukone were detained early in the morning outside the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Devanahalli for attempting to protest, a senior police officer told DH. 

A public meeting at the Karnataka Film Chamber Of Commerce (KFCC) saw participation from several Kannada A-listers like Shivarajkumar, Upendra, Darshan, SriiMurali and others.

Rest of the state

Police security was beefed up near the KRS dam in Srirangapatna taluk, across Mandya district and also in Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts.

The bandh call, however, received a lukewarm response in North Karnataka and was confined to protests and road blockades. Schools and colleges and business establishments were kept open. Bus service and business activities were not disrupted.

The police took a few protesters into custody at the Yadgir railway station when they tried to stop Mumbai-Chennai Express Train by climbing on to the engine.

The call failed to evoke any response in coastal Karnataka while normal life remained unaffected in the Kittur Karnataka region. Members of pro-Kannada, pro-farmers and other organisations staged protests, while police detained them in some districts of the region.

The bandh received mixed response in Davangere and Chitradurga districts.