Bengaluru, (Samajweekly) The Bharat Bandh call given by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha evoked a mixed response in Karnataka as daily life was not affected, with bus services operating and schools and colleges across the state functioning as usual on Monday.
Barring Kalburgi, life was normal in all north Karnataka districts though the protests and rallies were being taken out, while the protest did not evoke much response in coastal Karnataka, the bastion of the ruling BJP.
Districts such as Ramnagar, Mysuru, Hassan, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, and Kolar where the JD-S has strongholds, did see protests, but normal life has not been affected.
Karnataka Police took hundreds of protestors, who tried to block roads and highways across the state, into custody, ensuring smooth flow of traffic.
In Bengaluru, the driver of a Range Rover vehicle was also taken into custody for injuring DCP, North, Dharmendra Kumar Meena.
The DCP’s toes came under the wheel of the car and he suffered injuries on the leg in the incident near Goraguntepalya in Yeshwanthpur.
Meanwhile, traffic was thrown out of gear in Bengaluru as protestors took procession from three different directions and congregated near the Town Hall. From here, they took a massive rally towards the Mysuru Bank Circle.
The police arrested Sugarcane Growers Association President Kuruburu Shantakumar and his supporters early in the morning as soon as he gave a call to his followers to request shop owners close down their establishments.
The agitators brought a buffalo and a donkey along with them in the protest in Bengaluru and Dharwad. The police arrested 20 farmers for trying to block the national highway in Davanagere.
The protestors slept in front of shops with joined hands requested the shop owners to close their establishments and support the bandh. International travellers in Bengaluru reached the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL) early in the morning to avoid any inconvenience due to the protest.
