People from outside, who arrived in Bengaluru on Thursday morning, had to rely on private transport as buses were off the road with various organisations supporting the Karnataka bandh call. At the ‘arrivals’ section at Kempegowda International Airport, passengers milled about in confusion once they realised that BMTC’s Vayu Vajra service to various parts of the city was not operational. They had no choice but to take the airport taxi.
“I come to the city regularly and take the Vajra service to Majestic. It just costs ₹233, but, now I have to depend on a cab and they are charging ₹1,000,” said Ranjit Kumar Oja, who had come from Delhi.
KSRTC’s Flybus service to Mysuru, Kundapur, Salem and Madikeri were also not operational from 6 a.m. till 4 p.m..
With over 15,000 police personnel on the ground, no violence was reported, apart from a few stray incidents of stone pelting in the city.
Protesters gathered at the Town Hall after a march from the Freedom Park, and forcibly forced smaller shops on Avenue Road, BVK Iyengar Road and K.G. Road to close.
Tensions rose for a while at Avenue Road when protesters pelted stones, threatened shopkeepers and forced them to down their shutters around 11.30 a.m.
Earlier in the day, some protesters attempted to stop rail services at the busy KSR railway station by descending onto the tracks. However, police detained the protesters within a few minutes and services resumed after a minor delay.
Namma Metro services were not disrupted but ridership had dropped by half with most people choosing to remain at home.
At 8 a.m., some people gathered at Majestic station, but dispersed after intervention by the civil police. “So far, no other incidents have been reported,” said a spokesperson of the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. By 6 p.m., malls and shops opened, and people milled onto the streets to make the most of the long weekend.
The bandh in Dharwad and Gadag districts, coming under the Malaprabha Command Area, was total.
The coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada remained unaffected and there was little response in the Hyderabad Karnataka districts.
Protests and demonstrations were staged in many towns and cities, including Raichur, Kalaburagi.
NWKRTC had stopped buses to Goa, as a precautionary measure. Protesters’ plans to stage rail roko agitations in Bengaluru, Bagalkot and Yadgir were foiled. In Yadgir, the police arrested a few activists, who attempted to stop Udyan Express train at Yadgir Railway Station in the morning, as were those in Bagalkot.
