BENGALURU: The Bharat Bandh on Tuesday mostly saw mixed response in Karnataka. While the state capital saw thousands of farmers taking out a rally from Town Hall, rallies and protests were held in other districts. Several farmers’ organisations came out in support of the bandh called by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene as part of the all-India bandh to protest againt the reforms to farm laws by the Centre. Pro-Kannada organisations too backed the shutdown.
The bandh disrupted normal life as businesses downed their shutters in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts although the response was mixed in Mandya district. Farmers, joined by Dalit and labour unions, stopped bus services, disrupting movement of long-distance buses from 7 am for an hour. Rallies, demonstrations and protests were also held in Mangaluru, Belagavi, Tumakuru, Vijayapura, hubballi-Dharwad, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Raichur, Bidar, hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Koppal, Kolar and Chikkaballapur.
Though there were demonstrations, the bandh call evoked poor response in hassan. State transport buses, private taxis and autorickshaws were on the roads as usual in the district. In Davanagere and Chitradurga, KSRTC and city bus services besides autorickshaws and cabs remained off the roads, but government offices and banks functioned normally. Crowds, were however, noticeably thinner. In Davanagere, protesters at Jayadeva Circle raised slogans against the Central government and burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing the farm bills. In Chitradurga town, protesters took out a march and submitted a memorandum at the deputy commissioner’s office.
