With summer vacation being a prime tourist season in Mysuru, the dawn-to-dusk bandh here on Saturday in support of the Mekedatu drinking water project hit tourists, largely those from other States.
As the city buses, autorickshaws and taxis went off the road, some tourists were stranded in their hotels and others, who had their own vehicles, managed to visit nearby tourist sites.
However, the Mysuru palace remained closed for some time after a few pro-Kannada groups opposed tourists’ entry. The entry was, however, resumed at around 1.30 p.m. following the police intervention.
“Among tourists, who visited the palace on Saturday, majority were those from other States, who perhaps had no knowledge of the bandh. We issued tickets until 5.30 p.m. to facilitate their entry,” Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya told The Hindu .
A police officer posted at Varaha Gate of the palace told The Hindu that pro-Kannada activists took objection to the fact that the palace was open for public despite the bandh. However, after some interruptions tourists managed to enter the palace.
A five-member family from Kerala walked all the way from their hotel in Ittigegud to the palace as there was no public transport.
The Mysuru zoo was also closed for public after pro-Kannada activists raised objection.
Speaking to The Hindu , a zoo officer said: “We had opened the zoo in the morning and about 1,000 tourists had taken tickets. We stopped issuing tickets soon after the protest.”
Some hotels had kept their restaurants open for the sake of their guests. But, majority of hotels and restaurants remained closed, forcing tourists to scout for food.
A representative of a hotel in Nazarbad said: “Many tourists from Kerala vacated the hotel on Friday evening after getting to know about the bandh. As we don’t have an attached restaurant, tourists were told to arrange food on their own. While some had bought food like bread, biscuits, fruits the previous night, others managed to get food in roadside pushcarts.”
By evening, normality was restored with restaurants and business establishments resuming their services.
