Karnataka Bandh Today Live Updates: Bengaluru streets empty; about 50 protesters detained in Mysuru

Pro-Kannada activists get individuals to close up shops in Chikka, magaluru during the 12-hour bandh imposed by pro-Kannada organizations.

The Karnataka bandh evoked minimal support in Vijayanagara, Ballari, Koppal, and Raichur districts. Vehicle movement continued unabated, while offices, business houses, street vendors, and banks operated normally.

Normal life in Davanagere, no band effect, public transport including private buses are plying in the City.
Bandh observed by pro-Kannada activists has met with a poor response in commercial city Hubballi.
Huge gathering of protestors at Town Hall in Bengaluru. Police present in the area are detaining the protestors and taking them to Freedom Park.

A human chain was created by some activists at Ashok Circle, hindering vehicle movement.
An organized protest rally by the workers of the Union of Kannada Organizations started from the Circuit House of Belagavi and moved toward Channamma Circle.

We are morally giving our support for the bandh. But staying away from joining the bandh protest as it is a common man’s child who is undergoing annual examinations, says Chandrakant Chavan, a worker, Jaya Karnataka, Gadag.

Normal life goes on in Belagavi even as the ‘Karnataka bandh’ call has been made. Public transport services are running without any interruption. Small numbers of pro-Kannada activists have been present in some places to protest. These activists have expressed their discontent towards NWKRTC officials for not cooperating with the ‘bandh’.

Normal life went on without any interruption in

Hubballi, while businesses, schools and transport services ran smoothly throughout the day.
Members of all pro-Kannada organisations are gathering outside Circuit House in Belagavi, raising slogans and protesting vehemently against Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti.
Shivamogga district has not been touched by Karnataka Bandh.

 In spite of the state-wide call, no organizations have shown moral or material support at the local level. State-run and private buses are running smoothly.

Imagery from Mandya after a statewide shutdown call given by pro-Kannada organisations as a protest against the alleged beating up of the conductor of a state-owned bus at Belagavi.

Regular life goes uninterrupted in Mangaluru despite the bandh call. Public transport operations continue to run as usual with buses running on their regular routes, while private cars move unrestricted on the roads. Commercial complexes and shops carry out their regular business without any disruption.

Pro-Kannada groups organized protests in Tumakuru during the 12-hour bandh. The protest was organized following a reported attack on a bus conductor in Belagavi, who was allegedly attacked for not speaking Marathi.

There are many taxis and private hire cars waiting at Terminal T2, ready to take arriving passengers to their destinations.

Pro-Kannada groups have called for a 12-hour bandh in Mandya, with protesters convening at Sanjaya Circle. The closure was called after a reported occurrence in Belagavi where a bus conductor was attacked for refusing to converse in Marathi. Activists of all major Kannada support groups have converged in the city to protest against the attack.

All restaurants and hotels are open in Mysuru.

The scenario is all normal on the roads of Bengaluru: BMTC & KSRTC buses run smoothly, autorickshaws transport people, and cabs ply their services as usual.

Business life and daily chores remain unaffected in Hubbali-Dharwad with shops functioning as usual and vehicles plying undisturbed even as the pro-Kannada groups’ called 12-hour Karnataka bandh.

Thanks to repeated scrutiny, Mandya demonstrators avoided stopping any automobiles. They saw to it that students going for their examinations were not disrupted or inconvenienced in the slightest.

“Government is using the Police to suppress us. Vatal Nagaraj has called for a bandh. For that, many people have voluntarily come forward to go on a bandh. We are here to convince the bus drivers and operators. But they are stopping us. The government is sending us notice after notice. What are we, goons? We will start the rally at 11 am. We will take out the rally from Town Hall to Freedom Park.”

Ravi Shetty Byndoor, chairman of the Labour Council and a pro-Kannada activist

Police personnel have been deployed as a precautionary measure while normal daily activities continue.

In Mandya, Pro Kannada activists led by Karave Shivaramegowda and the Karnataka Students’ Organisation organized a protest at Sanjay Circle calling for the government to ban the MES Organisation. They also called for the state government to hasten the completion of the Mekedatu project.
Poor response to bandh in Chikkamagaluru and Hassan.

Karnataka bandh organized by pro-Kannada organizations received poor response in Chikkamagaluru and Hassan.
The flow of KSRTC buses and private cars was not disrupted. Autorickshaws and taxis were plying normally.
Some Kannada activists organized protests in front of the KSRTC bus stand in Chikkamagaluru while calling on people to join the bandh.

Travelers arrive at a bus terminal in Bengaluru during a 12-hour Karnataka-wide shutdown organized by pro-Kannada groups.
Police personnel are deployed in Kalaburagi as a precautionary measure, and usual activities and life go on without any hindrance.

City police have cautioned organisations and individuals against coercing people and businesses into complying with the Karnataka bandh being observed on Saturday by a section of pro-Kannada groups to express outrage over the attack on a conductor in Belagavi recently for refusing to address a passenger on a NWKRTC bus in Marathi.

Karnataka’s deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar said the state government would not encourage a bandh and would talk to pro-Kannada groups who have declared a state-wide shutdown on March 22, to persuade them this is not the right thing to do. The deputy chief minister was responding to Leader of Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy’s objections in the Legislative Council regarding the March 22 bandh in Karnataka, which would impact many SSLC (Class 10) students who will be appearing for their exams that day.

A few Kannada activists stopped the show of a Marathi film on Friday night in Belagavi. The show of the film ‘Follower’, which was released on Friday in Belagavi as well as Maharashtra, was stopped at the INOX cinema hall in the Camp area. The Shivarame Gowda group of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike interrupted the show, claiming that the film has the contentious border dispute topic in the favour of Maharashtra.
‘Ve don’t support a bandh. The courts also don’t support a bandh, whether political or by any group’

It (the bandh) is not required at present. They (the organisations) should have approached the government on this. It will impact students. We (the government) have also decided to hold a month-long campaign for water conservation in conjunction with the Cauvery aarti on March 22, which is celebrated as World Water Day. We don’t promote a bandh. The courts too do not favor a bandh, either political or any organized by a group: Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar.
Schools, colleges, and transport services hit – see full details

With the Karnataka Bandh on March 22 (Saturday), school functioning remains uncertain, especially with regard to the Indian School Certificate (ISC) home science exam scheduled for the same afternoon.
The news of the 6am-to-6pm bandh comes at a time when exam season is gaining momentum.
The bandh, which has been called by pro-Kannada groups, is against the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill and recent events in the Belagavi area, where a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) bus conductor was assaulted for not speaking Marathi.

‘We wholeheartedly welcome the bandh call. We are incurring massive losses due to bike taxis’

We wholeheartedly welcome the bandh call. We are incurring massive losses due to bike taxis. Where do we go for work when outsiders dominate our business? No cabs will operate on the road Saturday: N Ashok Kumar, vice-president, Ola Uber Drivers’ and Owners’ Association

A group of pro-Kannada organisations on Tuesday claimed they were proceeding with their call to hold a Karnataka Bandh Saturday. The 6am-to-6pm bandh announcement comes at a time when exam season is gathering pace. No SSLC exam starting Friday has, however, been planned for Saturday. An association of schools claimed they would proceed with exams for lower classes on the day for the sake of students.
‘The Belagavi attack is not acceptable at all, primarily because we are public servants’

We always give moral support to agitations. The Belagavi attack is not acceptable at all, primarily because we are public servants. We have not actually decided to suspend bus services as of now. We need to consider public convenience. We will call a meeting soon and decide: B Jayadev Raje Urs, convener of Joint Action Committee Unions, KSRTC

ISC exam on Karnataka bandh day troubles class 12 students

Schools belonging to the Council of Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and its class 12 students are an anxious lot as one of their ISC exam papers — home science — coincides with Saturday, March 22, when a section of pro-Kannada organisations has announced a dawn-to-dusk Karnataka bandh. Though there is no SSLC exam on Saturday, the ISC paper is on that afternoon. Once they came to know about the exam, the council informed schools in the state offering the subject to evaluate the situation. The schools then approached parents of students writing the paper for their feedback.