Bengaluru limping back to normality

A flag march being taken out by the Rapid Action Force on Tumakuru Road in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Photo: Sudhakar Jain

Bengaluru, which witnessed violent protests by garment factory workers in many areas on Tuesday, is slowly limping back to normality.

On Wednesday, the Rapid Action Force and police took out a flag march on Tumakuru Road and Bommasandra.

Though a holiday has been declared for all the garment factories in this part of the city, a few workers from some came to work as usual on Wednesday. The police said these workers were asked to leave immediately.

However, the other industrial units in the Peenya Industrial Area resumed work as usual on Wednesday.

S. Prabhakar from RMS Hydro Components Pvt. Ltd., which employs around 90 workers, said that around five of his colleagues were injured in the violence on Tuesday. He said that attendance across the industrial units that resumed work on Wednesday was just around 70 per cent.

At Jalahalli, the buses that were set on fire by the angry protestors on Tuesday were cleared early on Wednesday morning. This has helped ensure smooth vehicular movement on the arterial Tumakuru Road. The shops and other commercial establishments that had downed the shutters following the protests opened on Wednesday. The bus services on this route have resumed and Namma Metro is plying as usual.

Security has been tightened at Hosur Road, which witnessed protests for two consecutive days. According to senior police officials, as many as 20 platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police and three of the Rapid Action Force have been deployed in and around Hosur Road and sensitive junctions from Bommasandra to Hebbagodi. “There is tight security in place and we are monitoring the law and order situation,” said Boralingaiah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).

So far, the police have booked 38 cases and arrested 156 persons in connection with the violence. Around 40 were arrested on Wednesday. Among the arrested are three women, who were caught red-handed while pelting stones at the police. They said they were on a massive manhunt for a group of people who instigated the protest at Bommanahalli and pelted stones at the police. “We have identified a few of them and efforts are on to nab them,” said police sources.