The Gadag district bandh called to press for an early solution to the issue of sharing of Mahadayi waters received an overwhelming response, with all taluk headquarters except Naragund witnessing a total shutdown on Monday.
The bandh call did not have any impact in Naragund taluk as farmers’ leaders had decided not to press for shutdown of shops and commercial establishments, since it was only after more than a week of bandh-like atmosphere that the town had returned to normality.
While the bandh was total in all taluks of the district, the call received an overwhelming response in Gadag town and Laxmeshwar in Shirahatti taluk, with huge protest marches being taken out and closure of shops and commercial establishments, banks, schools and colleges, and public transport.
In Gadag, a stray incident of stone-pelting on the office of the Department of Minority Welfare was reported, resulting in damages to window panes. Although there were reports about a motorcycle being torched, it later turned out that it was a discarded motorcycle kept in a garage.
In all major junctions of Gadag including Mulagund Naka, Mahatma Gandhi circle, and Huilagol Narayanrao Circle, protesters staged demonstrations and burnt old tyres to register their protest against both the State and Union governments for their inability to get the issue resolved.
The police had deployed adequate forces at strategic points as a precautionary measure. Superintendent of Police of Gadag K.T. Balakrishna told The Hindu that barring the stray incident of stone pelting in Gadag, the bandh concluded peacefully across the district.
In the wake of the bandh call, State road transport buses were not allowed to enter the district as a precautionary measure while the movement of private vehicles was not affected.
