Bandh passes off peacefully

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, SEPT. 28. The dawn-to-dusk Karnataka bandh call given by the Dr. Rajkumar Abhimanigala Sangha and the Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce on Thursday in protest against the delay in the release of the thespian, abducted along with three others by Veerappan, evoked a mixed response.

While the bandh was total in the central and southern parts of the State, it was partial in the western and northern areas.

Barring stray incidents of stone-throwing in Bangalore City and Sakleshpur town in Hassan District, the bandh was peaceful. No untoward incident was reported from any other part of the State, the Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order), Mr. M.D. Singh, said.

Normal life was paralysed in Bangalore City, Bangalore Rural District, Mandya, Tumkur, Kolar, Shimoga, Chitradurga, Raichur, Koppal and Bellary.

Shops, business establishments, cinemas, banks and educational institutions remained closed. Attendance in Government offices and courts was thin. However, the public transport system was not affected much in the mofussil areas. By around 6 p.m., the situation regained a semblance of normality in most parts of the State.

In Bangalore, more than a dozen Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses were damaged and a few persons were injured after miscreants pelted the buses with stones forcing the BMTC to withdraw its services. But, rail and air services were not affected.

The bandh was partial in Hassan, Davangere, Chikmagalur, Chamarajanagar and Gulbarga districts. The bandh had little effect in Kodagu district, except in Suntikoppa.

In coastal Uttara Kannada district, a partial bandh was observed in Ankola, Sirsi and Siddapura where processions were taken out by the actor's fans.

Though Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts were exempted from the bandh as the Dasara celebrations began today, a few taluks observed the bandh.

The bandh call evoked a lukewarm response in the northern districts of Bidar, Dharwad, Belgaum, Haveri, Gadag, Bijapur, Bagalkot and the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

In Sakleshpur, some persons pelted two KSRTC buses with stones breaking their windshields near Anemahal guest house in the afternoon.

As many as 126 persons were arrested all over the State today for violating prohibitory orders, stone-throwing and forcing shopkeepers to down their shutters.

Police also took 815 people into preventive custody on Wednesday and Thursday. The bandobust in place for the bandh is likely to continue till Mr. Rajkumar is released. A decision would be taken after a review of the situation, Mr. Singh said.

Meanwhile, the Dr. Rajkumar Abhimanigala Sangha president, Mr. Sa. Ra. Govindu, and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president, Mr. K.C.N. Chandrashekar, claimed that the bandh was total all over the State and thanked the public for responding to their call.

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