Hyd-K’taka bundh near total
The Hyderabad-Karnataka bundh call evoked total response on Tuesday, except in Bellary.
The bundh call was given to pressurise the Centre to include the State under Article 371, so that special privileges could be given to the backward Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
Total bundh was observed in five districts of the region namely Bidar, Gulbarga, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppal, but there was no response in Bellary at all.
In Gulbarga, the bundh was near-total and business activities resumed after 3 pm.
However, except for a small skirmish at Lingasugur in Raichur district, the bundh went off peacefully in all the six districts. When some members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike geharoed Raichur MP Sanna Pakkirappa at Lingasgur and urged him to join their fight, Pakkirappa told the agitators that he, along with the other MPs from the region, had appraised the Centre regarding the need to bring the State under Article 371.
He said he was ready to resign as a MP to pressurise the Union Government in this direction.
In Bidar too, the bundh was total as all the schools, colleges, other educational institutions and business establishments remained closed for the day. Though the government offices and banks were open, attendance was thin.
Buses and autos too stayed off the roads. Work in the district court was affected for quite some time as members of the District Bar Association too remained absent from court proceedings from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm, expressing their solidarity with the demand.
In Yadgir, police foiled a youth’s attempt at self-immolation. In Koppal, the bundh was total with traders voluntarily downing their shutters.
However, Bellary, which is a part of Gulbarga division enjoying the benefits of Hyderabad Karnataka Development Board since its inception, gave a slip to the Hyderabad Karnataka Horata Samithi by completely ignoring the bundh call. But some Karnataka Rakshana Vedike members were arrested and later released, when they tried to lay siege to the Head Post Office in the city. Barring this incident, business was as usual in the district.
