While 44 flights were cancelled to and from Kempegowda International Airport, state-run buses were are plying at reduced capacity.
A scene from the Karnataka bandh on 29 September. (Supplied)
The Karnataka bandh called by the “Kannada Okkoota” — a coalition of Kannada organisations — has affected normal life in the state as shops and other business establishments remained closed, private vehicles stayed off the roads, and 44 flights to and from the Kempegowda International Airport were cancelled till noon on Friday, 29 September.
The statewide 6 am to 6 pm shutdown is in protest against Karnataka releasing 5,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, despite a drought-like situation in several talukas.
Compared to the Bengaluru bandh on Tuesday, the state bandh evoked a better response, gathering momentum with more shops, hotels, malls, cinemas, commercial establishments, businesses — both big and small — throughout the Cauvery basin districts, such as Maddur and Mandya, downing their shutters on Friday.
Private vehicles kept off the roads in those areas as well. The “Kannada Okkoota” is an umbrella organisation of almost all pro-Kannada outfits and farmers’ associations.
The bandh is being observed in almost all the districts on the Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor, including Ramanagara, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya, and Mysuru.
Bracing for any untoward incidents, police clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in Bengaluru Urban, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara, and Hassan districts, and declared a holiday for schools and colleges in those districts.
Despite the orders, agitators continued with their protest and hundreds of them were taken into preventive custody from different parts of the city, like Town Hall, Gandhinagar, near Freedom Park, as well as from other southern districts like Mandya.
In Bengaluru, security was beefed up in Jayanagar and on stretches of Mysuru Road where large-scale violence erupted the last time, and also at Tamil-dominated pockets of the city.
There are very few government buses seen plying the roads as there are hardly any passengers. A majority of private cabs and auto-rickshaws also stayed off the roads on Friday.
Bus stands and railway stations in southern Karnataka and the airport in Bengaluru also wore a deserted look. Key market areas in Bengaluru, such as Chickpet, Balepet, and adjoining business areas were deserted too.
Most IT companies and other firms in Bengaluru asked their employees to work from home.
Farmers and pro-Kannada organisations staged protests outside the airport as well. One group gathered near the arrival gate of Kempegowda International Airport to register their protest over the Cauvery water dispute.
They raised slogans, following which they were taken into preventive detention by the Bengaluru Police.
“We have taken 12 people into preventive custody. They had gathered at the airport premises to register their protest over the Cauvery water dispute,” a senior police officer told South First.
As many as 44 flights to and from the Kempegowda International Airport — 22 departures and 22 arrivals — were cancelled owing to the Karnataka bandh. This has caused inconvenience to several passengers.
However, airport authorities maintained that the flights were cancelled due to the fewer number of passengers and claimed that no other passengers were inconvenienced.
Similarly, the state transport corporations too cancelled many of their bus services, especially in the Cauvery basin districts, where the bandh has had the most impact. Many passengers had a harrowing time as they missed their flights, buses, and trains due to the day-long shutdown.
“We cancelled 44 flights, majorly Indigo, on Friday, due to the strike. They include 22 departures and 22 arrivals. However, this is only 7 percent of our operations that have been affected, which is not extraordinary. On a given day, the airport operates 650 flights both domestic and international and, on an average each day, around three percent flight operations get affected either due to cancellations and/or recalibrations,” a BIAL source told South First.
The source continued, “As there were only a few passengers on Friday, many Indigo flights had cancelled their flights. Many passengers themselves had cancelled their journeys. All other flights are running on schedule and the passengers are comfortably seated in the boarding areas as they have arrived early. Vayu Vajra buses, airport taxis, Ola and Uber cabs are all operating at the airport.”
“There were 15 to 20 activists from pro-Kannada outfits that gathered before the arrival gate of the Kempegowda International Airport and started sloganeering. The police bundled them into a bus and took them into preventive custody,” he added.
Similarly, agitation took place at bus stations, where the activists had staged demonstrations and raised slogans while holding banners, posters, and placards. The agitators also blocked many roads in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar, leading to a chaotic situation.
The state-owned transport corporations operated very few buses in the southern districts, fearing a backlash. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) said that only 59.88 percent of buses are operational in the southern parts of Karnataka. The worst-hit KSRTC divisions, in terms of operations, were Mysuru and Chamarajanagar.
Against the scheduled departure of 447 buses, only seven buses plied in Mysuru, while in Chamarajanagar, eight out of 247 buses operated. Mandya, Chikkamagaluru, and Bengaluru witnessed 37.25 percent, 51.49 percent, and 57.39 percent operations, respectively, against the scheduled departures.
Protestors were seen waylaying government buses and sloganeering, while police videographed them — both in Bengaluru and other southern districts. Agitators were seen burning posters and effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin in Bengaluru and in districts in the Cauvery basin.
The Karnataka police have made elaborate security arrangements throughout the state, identifying sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas.
Tension prevailed at the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border on Hosur Road at the Attibele Check Post, with agitators staging protest and stopping Tamil Nadu buses from entering Karnataka. The police took the protestors from the Attibele Check Post into preventive custody as well.
Dramatic scenes were witnessed in Bengaluru and the other southern districts owing to the bandh on Friday. While a few protestors were seen giving blood — hiring a medical lab technician who was seen drawing blood from them — others set fire to portraits and effigies of Stalin and registered their protest.
The Kannada film industry had also extended its support to the bandh. Theatres across the state have cancelled shows until the evening, with the Karnataka Film Exhibitors’ Association backing the bandh.
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