JOIN USIt's total bandh in city of palaces
Bharat bandh call given by the opposition BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the centre on Thursday to oppose hike in diesel price and cap on subsidised LPG cylinders, was total in the city.
Barring incidents of saffron party workers scuffle with a film crew near Hotel Lalitha Mahal Palace and Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) activists stopping a train at the railway station here as part of rail roko, the bandh was otherwise peaceful.
The central business district comprising K R Circle, D Devaraja Urs road, Old Santhepet, Sayyaji Rao road, Srirampet, Dhanwantri road and Ashoka road wore a deserted look with traders downing shutters. The film exhibitors had suspended screening of morning and matinee shows. Petrol bunks too had called it off for the day.
Though some of the bunks on the outskirts of the city tried to encash the opportunity with vehicular users thronging the same, they later decided to close following an advise from the police. As a precautionary measure police had been deployed in fuel stations in their limits and also at vantage points.
Public transport was affected as KSRTC and private buses, auto rickshaws had been taken off the roads leaving uninformed public in a fix. Tongas were seen trotting on the roads with those involved in the very job making most use of the opportunity.
Medical education and district in-charge minister S A Ramdas led the protesters at Agrahara circle in the city. They later took out a rally to Gandhi Square and staged a demonstration. Workers of CPI, members of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and Janata Dal (Secular) took out a two-wheeler rally.
However, high drama was witnessed near Hotel Lalitha Mahal Palace where shooting for a Kannada film was underway. Sources said that the flick a remake of a Telugu film has Ramya and Diganth in the lead.
Around 50 workers of BJP led by corporator M D Parthasarathy of ward number four warned the film unit against continuing with the shooting during bandh. Following which, the the place. The incident took a filmy twist, when Ramya returned to pick up a quarrel with the mob.
She contended the alleged tyrannical attitude of the saffron party workers, as cancelling shooting even for a day will snatch the daily wage of the crew. The police had to intervene and whisk away the actress. The shooting resumed late in the afternoon.
It was another high drama at city railway station, where a posse of Kannada activists staged a rail roko. About 30 activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) led by their district unit president Praveen Kumar picketed in front of Mysore- Mailadudorai train (no 16232) for 10 minutes ahead of the departure.
The railway police force (RPF) personnel arrested five of the agitators facilitating the departure as per schedule at 3.45 pm.
The arrested- Praveen Kumar, Fayaz Khan, Fairoz Khan, Manju and Mohammed Jaffer were booked under sections 147 (trespassing) and 174A (obstructing the movement of train) and produced before a court. The accused paid fine of Rs 500 imposed on each.
The activists had entered the platform in the disguise of passengers hoodwinking RPF personnel on security duty. The police personnel were flummoxed to know about the activists when the latter displayed their uniformed towels.