Is There A Bandh In Bengaluru Today? Confusion Prevails As Kannada-Farmer Organisations Divided

Two bandhs have been announced this week - one in Bengaluru on Tuesday and another statewide on Friday - to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, with opposition parties in Karnataka backing the call made by a farmers' organisation for the shutdown today.

In addition to it, the Bengaluru police have said that they haven't granted permission for any bandh, protest, or demonstration, and the entire Bengaluru is under Section 144, which prohibits gatherings of more than five people.

This has led to a lot of confusion among the people of Bengalurians about who is supporting the bandh on which day, and whether services will be available today.

Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj on Monday announced that the 'Kannada Okkuta' group is not supporting the bandh on Tuesday called by 'Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti', a collective of farmers' associations and other organizations led by farmer leader Kuruburu Shanthakumar This has also exposed the divide among the farmers and pro-Kannada organisations.

Although Shanthakumar affirmed their plans for the Bengaluru shutdown on Tuesday, Vatal Nagaraj, who advocated for a statewide shutdown on Friday, explicitly stated that Kannada Okkuta does not endorse the bandh scheduled for today.

Shanthakumar said they have received support from a number of organisations for their bandh call tomorrow and would go ahead with it. "We will come in a protest to Bengaluru's Freedom Park and stage a demonstration there with our demands. The state government, the chief minister, will have to receive our memorandum. If there is no proper response to our protest from the government, we will decide on our further course of action," PTI quoted him as saying.

On the other hand, Vatal Nagaraj said they had asked 'Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti' to postpone their bandh call and to observe it together with them on September 29.

"What we have called is Akhanda Karnataka bandh (entire Karnataka bandh) on September 29. It will be observed across the state without leaving any district. Our fight is for entire Karnataka. Kannada Okkuta has organised more than 50 bandhs in the whole state so far," he said, as he questioned why the bandh was called by others only for Bengaluru.

Several organisations which had backed the bandh on Tuesday has withdrawn their support for Tuesday bandh.

Notably, Ola-Uber Drivers' Association today said they would extend full support for the September 29 Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations but will not support Tuesday's bandh.

"Tomorrow our services will be normal. This decision was taken in a meeting held today in the presence of pro-Kannada and various organisations," the association in a statement said, adding that drivers are in the midst of financial difficulties and they are of the opinion that they cannot afford to lose two days of work.

The Hotel Owners' Association too has withdrawn their support for the bandh today, citing confusion, and said all hotels and restaurants will be open.

However, associations and unions operating autos and taxis have extended their complete support for Tuesday's bandh call, and KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation too had asked Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) staff not to bring out any buses from depots from dawn to dusk (6 am to 6 pm).

However, BMTC officials maintaining that services will not be affected fully said, the situation will be reviewed Tuesday morning. Metro services are likely to be unaffected by the bandh call and would continue to function as usual.

Nonetheless, most private schools and colleges across the city declared holiday for students.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said that prohibitory orders under section 144 will be in place across the city from midnight tonight to midnight tomorrow in the wake of bandh.

Also, according to existing restrictions and court orders, there is no permission for any bandh or procession in the city tomorrow, he said, "No one can forcefully implement the bandh by using force, other than in case where someone wants to observe it voluntarily."

The early visuals from the Majestic bus stand indicated that there are less number of passengers today. Manju, a bus conductor at Majestic BMTC Bus stop in Bengaluru says "As bandh has been called, no commuters are seen in Kempegowda bus stop which is usually one of the busiest bus stops in the state."

The BMTC has announced that all routes are operational today.

However, not many autos are available. An auto driver at Majestic BMTC Bus stop, Naseer Khan said, "We support the bandh called by various organisations. When the Cauvery water issue comes, we have a very clear stand that Karnataka will not provide water to anyone. Only night drivers are here, autos will not run today, we will support the bandh."