The bandh call given by the Opposition BJP elicited a poor response in Mysuru on Monday. However, scores of BJP workers including Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and MLAs S.A. Ramdas and L. Nagendra were arrested after they staged demonstrations in different parts of the city.
While schools and educational institutions remained open, KSRTC and other public transport including autorickshaws plied as usual. Hotels, shops, commercial establishments and petrol bunks too remained open in Mysuru.
The BJP workers, led by Mr. Simha, gathered in front of KSRTC bus depot in Bannimantap and called for a ‘voluntary’ bandh to demand an announcement on waiver of agricultural loans by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy as per his pre-poll promise. But, the police arrested the protesters.
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Meanwhile, BJP supporters, led by party MLAs A. Ramdas and L. Nagendra, also gathered in front of suburban bus stand and city bus stand demanding loan waivers. BJP workers also tried to stop buses from plying and attempted to close nearby shops in Gandhi Square. But the police took the protesters into custody. They were released later.
Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Abhiram Shankar had said that schools and colleges would remain open on Monday while Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association had said that it was not extending any support to the bandh call. Association president Narayan Gowda, in a statement, said closure of hotels will inconvenience tourists and the general public.