A 12-hour bandh over the dispute with Goa on sharing of the Mahadayi river water is on in Karnataka. It is near total in Bengaluru, Mysuru and districts in the Malaprabha Command Area - Belagavi, Gadag, Dharwad and Bagalkot - which are seeking water from the Mahadayi basin .
Buses were off the roads during most part of the day. BMTC and KSRTC resumed services from Bengaluru around 4 p.m. KSRTC officials said 2,400 departures were cancelled through the day and hope to make it up to the destinations through the night. BMTC will, however, be running fewer schedules due to lower number of commuters.
The coastal districts and parts of Malnad region, however, remain largely aloof.
The BJP has called the bandh "politically motivated" as it has been called on the day of its national president Amit Shah's visit to Mysuru.
Firoz Rozindar reports low response to the bandh call in Bagalkot district, except in Badami taluk. In Bagalkot city, it is business as usual and educational institutions are open.
Some protesters try to to stage a rail 'roko'. However, the police foil their plans and take them into custody. Government buses going towards Hubballi are stopped at Gaddankeri Cross.
Imran Gowhar reports from Bengaluru that tension prevails for sometime at Avenue Road after protesters pelt stones, threaten shopkeepers and force them to down the shutters around 11.30 a.m. Few shops and eateries on Avenue Road are forced to shut down. However, by the time the police reached the spot, the protesters flee.
M. Ahiraj writes that life remains unaffected in Koppal district due to a lukewarm response to the bandh call. Movement of public and private transport is normal. Business is as usual and schools and colleges are functioning normally. Earlier in the day, members of pro-Kannada organisations staged a demonstration in the town.
Kumar Buradikatti says that in Hyderabad Karnataka, except Ballari, the bandh call evokes little response. Transport services, operated by transport corporations, taxis and autos, remain normal. All business establishments, including trading centres at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee market yards, begin their business as usual. Traffic flow in the cities and towns in most of the region is normal and educational institutions, both private and government, are open.
In Kalaburagi, members of the Karnataka Navanirmana Sene and the Hyderabad Karnataka Raitha Sangha take out a procession from the SVP Circle and stage a demonstration outside the district administration complex.
Except a few demonstrations, Raichur and Yadgir too remain normal. The Yadgir police arrest a few pro-Kannada activists, who attempted to stop the Udyan Express at the Yadgir Railway Station. Activists associated with the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and a faction of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike burn effigies of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Irrigation Minister Vinod Palekar at the Bhagat Singh Circle in Raichur.
Mohit M. Rao reports from Bengaluru that protesters gather at the Town hall after a march from theb Freedom Park. Along the route, smaller shops on Avenue Road, BVK Iyengar Road and KG Road are forcibly closed down.
Afshan Yasmeen says that with no buses, the patient flow in almost all government hospitals in the capital city is less than usual. In the Bowring Hospital, 30% of staff stay away from work.
R. Girish, a car driver with a private company, has been ferrying stranded senior citizens and patients to their destinations from Kempegowda bus station since morning.
Coming to the rescue of senior citizens and patients, who have come from other parts of the state unaware of the bandh, R. Girish has been ferrying them to their destinations from morning in his car. “I work for a private company as a driver and I am usually on night shift. I was pained by the plight of senior citizens and patients who are stranded at the Kempegowda bus station. I have done four trips from morning to Victoria Hospital, Electronic City and Hebbagodi. I will try to help as many stranded passengers as possible through the day,” he tells The Hindu .
Sarumathi K. reports that several IT companies, including Infosys, remain closed. Some companies had asked their employees to work from home. Tech parks in Bengaluru wore a deserted look. The police have ensured ample security for these tech parks. Members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike take out a procession in front of the Manyata Tech Park, which houses big companies such as Nokia, IBM and L&T. No untoward incident is reported. Companies working out of Bagmane World Technology Centre in Mahadevapura remain closed.
Firoz Rozindar writes that no effect of the bandh is seen in Vijayapura, with all business establishments, buses and private vehicles working as usual. However, the bandh is total in Badami taluk of Bagalkot district, which is one of the beneficiaries of Mahadayi.
Mohit M. Rao reports that a few protesters attempt to stop rail services at the busy KSR Railway station by descending onto the tracks. However, police detain the protesters and services resume after a minor delay.
Girish Pattanashetti notes that protests begin from early morning in the districts of Dharwad and Gadag. Naragund in Gadag district, epicentre of the Mahadayi agitation, remains completely shut down. In Naragund, protests are also held against Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda for his reported comments in Mysuru against participating in the Mahadayi agitation.
Protesters belonging to various pro-Kannada organisations stage demonstrations and take out protest marches. Navalgund in Dharwad, where an indefinite agitation is going on, witnesses a complete shutdown. In Naragund, stones are pelted at a car bearing Goa registration number forcing the driver to retreat. The National Highway Hubballi- Vijayapura is blocked at Naragund.
In Gadag, protesters stage a demonstration outside the office of Member of Parliament from Haveri Shivakumar Udasi of the BJP.
However, Haveri district witnesses a lukewarm response to the bandh call. While long-route buses are off the roads, mofussil services are available in Haveri.
In Hubballi, Dharwad city bus services are suspended and only a few auto-rickshaws are available.
Veerendra P.M. reports from Shivamogga that the bandh evokes poor response in Shivamogga district. Commercial establishments and education institutions remain open in Shivamogga, Bhadravathi and Sagar. Government offices and banks are functioning normally. The KSRTC has canceled bus services plying on long routes, causing inconvenience for the passengers. Private buses are operated as usual.
M. Ahiraj states that barring protests by the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists, life remains unaffected in Ballari till 9.30 a.m. NEKRTC buses are off the roads. Movement of private vehicles is unaffected. Holiday is declared for educational institutions and there are no reports of any untoward incidents. Police presence is heavy.
Sarumathi K. reports that Flybus and BMTC bus services are not available to and from airport due to bandh.
Anil Kumar Sastry says that private bus service is normal in Mangaluru and KSRTC buses are not plying.
Mohit M. Rao reports that the KSRTC/BMTC have completely withdrawn their services. While autos and cabs continue to ply on the road (Uber, for instance, have told their drivers that they will compensate in case there is any vehicle damage), not one public bus can be seen on the road.
N. Dinesh Nayak notes that the bandh call evokes good response in Dharwad. The city wears a deserted look as buses remain off the roads and business establishments are closed. Educational institutions are not functioning as the district administration has declared a holiday. Members of pro-kannada organisations protest at the Jubilee Circle.
Rishikesh Bahadur Desai reports from Belagavi that the bandh has limited impact in the city. Holiday declared for schools only in four of 11 taluks. Other schools, colleges, offices and shops are open. Buses are plying. The NWKRTC stops buses to Goa as a precautionary measure.
Bengaluru: Many private companies are not open in Bengaluru. Though transport corporations, the railways and the BMRCL had said services will be available, it will depend on the security situation during the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. bandh.
Bengaluru: Schools and colleges in Bengaluru and Kolar are closed. The Bangalore University has rescheduled some of its undergraduate and postgraduate examinations to other dates. Majority of these examinations are part of distance education programmes.
Sarumathi K. reports that Namma Metro services are running normally and trains on the Purple Line are available every 8 minutes. Certain entrances of some of the stations are closed for security reasons. Extra security is provided outside metro stations. So far, no incidents are reported.
Ganesh Prabhu writes from Udupi that the bandh call evokes no response in the city. Private buses run as usual. The Udupi-Mangaluru-Kundapur bus service (considered the lifeline of the district) functions as usual. The Udupi-Manipal private city bus services also function normally.
However, the operation of government inter-district and inter-State buses and government city and service buses are stopped, says Uday Shetty, Depot Manager, KSRTC, Udupi.
The people of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada are more concerned about the Netravati River Diversion Project, also called the Yettinahole project.
Bengaluru: Kamal Pant, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) says 170 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) battalions, 220 City Armed Reserve (CAR) platoons, and 63,000 policemen will be on the ground to prevent untoward incidents. In and around Bengaluru, 15,000 police personnel, along with 50 platoons of KSRP and CAR police will patrol sensitive areas.
City Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar warns people not to force commercial establishments to down their shutters.
Mohit M. Rao reports that protestors gather at the Majestic metro station in Bengaluru, but police disperse them. Additional forces are put in place.
BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa, who addressed a rally as part of the ongoing Parivarthana Yatra in Madikeri on Wednesday, reiterates the allegation that the two bandh calls in the State on January 25 and February 4 — coinciding with the visits of BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, respectively — are instigated by the Congress.
