The bandh call given by Deshbhakt Nagarik Sanghatan condemning the murder of Kannaiah Lal in Rajasthan evoked a good response in Ballari on Monday.
Since the call for the bandh was widely publicised in the last two days, most of the trading units and commercial establishments in Kaul Bazaar and other areas in the market remained closed since morning. However, the trading units of the essential services and commodities such as hospitals, pharmacy shops, vegetable and fruit stalls operated as usual.
Cinemas remained closed for the first two shows in the day. The managements of some of the private schools and colleges declared a holiday for the day to avoid any untoward incidents. Though the educational institutions run by the government remained open, the attendance of students was very poor. The government offices and banks functioned as usual but with diminished clients. State-run bus services were not affected by the agitation.
Motorcycle rally
As the day broke, hundreds of youths grouped themselves into different teams and roamed on motorcycles to ensure that all the commercial establishments and trading units were closed to observe the bandh. They were found forcing shop owners at Kaul Bazaar and Radio Park to close their business establishments.
Addressing a public meeting in Gadagi Channappa Circle, Ibrahim Babu, president of BJP’s Minority Morcha and a member of Ballari City Corporation, said that the killing of Kannaiah Lal was equal to the killing of democracy in India.
“Hindus and Muslims are living in harmony in India. However, some vested interests are trying to disturb peace. We have to get united and protest against such designs,” he said.
Condemning the killing of Kannaiah Lal, Ballari city MLA G. Somashekhar Reddy said that a Bharat Bandh will be inevitable if stringent action is not taken against the murderers.
