There was mixed response to a State-wide bandh called over the sharing of Mahadayi river water with Goa in districts across Karnataka. The bandh was near total in Bengaluru, Mysuru and districts in the Malaprabha Command Area — Belagavi, Gadag, Dharwad and Bagalkot — which are seeking water from the Mahadayi basin . However, the coastal districts and parts of Malnad region remained largely aloof.
Though the Congress claims to have no role in the bandh, the BJP has called the bandh “politically motivated”as it has been called on the day of its president Amit Shah’s visit to Mysuru.
Kamal Pant, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) said 170 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) battalions, 220 City Armed Reserve (CAR) platoons, and 63,000 policemen would be on the ground to prevent any untoward incidents. In and around Bengaluru, 15,000 police personnel, along with 50 platoons of KSRP and CAR police would patrol the sensitive areas.
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In Bengaluru, buses were off the roads and shops shut in the city’s central business district. The KSRTC and the BMTC completely withdrew their services. Neither were Flybus and BMTC bus services available to and from the Kempegowda International Aiport. Autorickshaws and cabs continued to ply on the road. Uber, a cab aggregator had told its drivers that it will compensate in case there is any vehicle damage.
Protesters gathered at the Town Hall after a march from the Freedom Park. Along the route, smaller shops on the Avenue Road, BVK Iyengar Road and KG Road were forcibly closed. 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. This was despite City Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar's warning against forcing commercial establishments to down the shutters. By the time the police rushed to the spot, the protesters had fled.
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Earlier in the day, a few 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.
However, Namma Metro services were not disrupted. The ridership (between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.) on both the Purple and Green Lines was around 20,387. “We are currently running trains on both lines at a constant headway of 10 minutes. Depending on the rush, we will increase the frequency. At 8 a.m., a few people gathered at the 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.
With no buses, the patient flow in almost all government hospitals in the city was less than usual. At the Bowring Hospital, nearly 30 per cent of staff stayed away from work.
Coming to the rescue of senior citizens and patients who had come from other parts of the country R. Girish was seen ferrying them to their destinations from morning in his car. “I work for a private company as a driver and I am usually on night shift. I was pained by the plight of senior citizens and patients who are stranded at the Kempegowda bus station. I have done four trips from morning to Victoria Hospital, Electronic City and Hebbagodi. I will try to help as many stranded passengers as possible through the day,” he told The Hindu .
Several IT companies, including Infosys, remained closed. Some companies had asked their employees to work from home. Tech parks wore a deserted look. The city police have ensured ample security for them. In the morning, members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike took out a procession in front of Manyata Tech Park, which houses big companies such as Nokia, IBM and L&T. No untoward incident was reported. Companies working out of the Bagmane World Technology Centre in Mahadevapura also remained closed.
In Kolar, Tumkuru
No untoward incident was reported from any part of Kolar district. Only a few shops remained closed. Educational institutions remained closed as per the directions of the district administration, while government offices functioned as usual. The KSRTC bus stand wore a deserted look as officials suspended operations as a precautionary measure. Some of the passengers, who came to travel to distant places, were seen waiting. The police foiled attempts of pro-Kannada activists to burn tyres at the KSRTC Bus Stand Circle, even as the functionaries raised slogans against the Union government for its alleged failure to resolve the Mahadayi row.
In Tumakuru, but for a few, most shops, commercial establishments and hotels remained closed. Private schools and colleges had declared a holiday, while government offices were open. Autorickshaws and KSRTC buses remained off the roads.
In Malaprabha area
Protests began early in Dharwad and Gadag districts that come under the Malaprabha Command Area. The bandh was total in both districts.
Naragund in Gadag district, the epicentre of the Mahadayi agitation, remained completely shut. Here, protests were held against Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda for his reported comments in Mysuru against participating in the Mahadayi agitation. Protesters belonging to various pro-Kannada organisations staged demonstrations and took out protest marches.
In Naragund, stones were allegedly pelted at a car bearing Goa registration number, forcing the driver to retreat. National Highway Hubballi-Vijayapura was blocked at Naragund.
Navalgund in Dharwad, where an indefinite agitation is going on, also witnessed a complete shutdown. In Gadag, protesters staged a demonstration outside the office of Haveri MP Shivakumar Udasi of the BJP. However, Haveri district witnessed a lukewarm response to the bandh call. While long route buses were off the roads, moffusil services were available in Haveri.
In Hubballi, Dharwad city bus services were suspended and very few autorickshaws were available. The bandh call evoked a good response in Dharwad. The city wore a deserted look as buses remained off the roads and business establishments remained closed. Educational institutions were not functioning as the district administration had declared a holiday. Members of pro-Kannada organisations staged a protest at the Jubilee Circle.
In other districts
There was lukewarm response to the bandh call in Bagalkot, Koppal, Kalaburagi,Raichur, Yadgir, Vijayapura and Shivamogga. The coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada also remained unaffected.
For people of Hyderabad Karnataka, the bandh call evoked little response. Transport services, operated by state-run transport corporations and private taxi and auto players, remained normal. All business establishments, including trading centres at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee market yards, began their business as usual. Traffic flow in the cities and towns in most of the region was undisrupted. Educational institutions, both private and government, were open.
In Kalaburagi, members of the Karnataka Navanirmana Sene and the Hyderabad Karnataka Raitha Sangha took out a procession from the SVP Circle and staged a demonstration outside the district administration complex.
Except a few demonstrations, Raichur and Yadgir too remained normal. In Yadgir, police arrested a few pro-Kannada activists, who attempted to stop the Udyan Express at the Yadgir Railway Station in the morning. Activists associated with the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and a faction of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike burnt effigies of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Irrigation Minister Vinod Palekar at Bhagat Singh Circle in Raichur.
Barring a protest demonstration by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists, life remained unaffected in Ballari. NEKRTC buses were off the roads, though movement of private vehicles remained unaffected.
There was low response to the bandh in Bagalkot district, except in Badami taluk. In Bagalkot city, it was business as usual and educational institutions were open. Some protesters tried to to stage a rail ''roko''. However, the police foiled their plans and took them into custody. Meanwhile, government buses going towards Hubballi were stopped at GaddankeriCross.
Life remained unaffected in Koppal district due to a lukewarm response to the bandh call. Movement of public and private transport was normal. Business was as usual and schools and colleges functioned normally. Earlier in the day, members of pro-Kannada organisations staged a demonstration in the town.
There was no effect of bandh in Vijayapura, with all business establishments working as usual and buses and private vehicles plying normally. Similar was the scene in Shivamogga district where commercial establishments and education institutions remained open in Shivamogga, Bhadravathi and Sagar. Government offices and banks also functioned normally. Though the KSRTC cancelled services on long routes, private buses operated as usual.
In Belagavi, the bandh had limited impact. Schools declared holidays in only four of 11 taluks. The NWKRTC had stopped buses to Goa as a precautionary measure.