The continuation of curfew beyond 36 hours in Mangaluru city, which witnessed violence during the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the killing of two people on Thursday, affected people who struggled to procure daily essentials on Saturday.
While an uneasy calm prevailed in the city on Friday with no incident being reported, thanks to the strict imposition of curfew, people found it difficult to manage without being able to buy essentials such as vegetables, meat and milk when curfew was not relaxed on Saturday. Shops and establishments opened their shutters for a short while in the morning with vehicles plying on roads, but were soon ordered to be closed by the police citing the curfew.
Milk was almost not available with police restraining vans from entering the city. A vendor in Nandigudda brought milk in a car boot and sold it at normal prices. Most Nandini milk booths remained shut. In Jeppu, an ice cream producer was seen selling milk packets in bulk, perhaps to exhaust stocks.
A few fuel pumps opened early in the morning with motorists queuing up to fill the tanks. However, they were soon turned away by the police who asked pump operators to shut down.
There was commotion in the Central Market, the business hub of the city, early in the morning when people thronged in good numbers to buy vegetables. Police resorted to mild use of force to disperse the crowd before asking traders to shut operations.
People were seen visiting shops to buy groceries, vegetables and other essentials but were soon asked to go back by the police.
