Government services shut down for most of the day, while only some establishments in the private sector were operational as the bandh called against fuel price hikes on Monday was peaceful, barring a few stray incidents of violence in the coastal areas.
For most of the day, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and local area public transport did not ply between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., leaving many stranded in bus stations and railway stations. The absence of transport and closure of schools saw the local economy come to a halt in most parts of the State. While banks and industry did not explicitly participate in the bandh, lower number of employees turning up for duty saw their services being affected.
The success of the bandh in private establishments largely followed the political contours of the State. In Mandya and Hassan, which are JD(S) bastions, and large parts of North Karnataka, which are Congress strongholds, the bandh call was met with good response, either by shopkeepers voluntarily downing their shutters or out of fear of reprisals. In the coastal belt, which is a BJP stronghold, there was a mixed response, with a large number of shops being operational on Monday.
In Hubballi, the bandh received a good response, even though there were reports of the strike being forcibly enforced by deflating tyres of autorickhaws that were plying.
Much of the capital city Bengaluru, particularly Central Business District, downed shutters as traffic flowed relatively smoothly. IT hubs, however, operated albeit with lower employee turnout due to transportation issues. Schools and colleges remained closed and many of institutions were forced to postpone their mid-semester examinations that were scheduled on Monday. Private schools have decided to work an extra day - on a Saturday - to make up for the interruption in the academic calendar.
The attendance in government offices was severely affected, with as many as half the employees unable to make it to the offices, said B.K. Giri Gowda, Vice-President, Karnataka State Government Employees Association.
In the midst of the rallies, protest speeches and tyre burnings to block major roads, the bandh saw some innovative protests by the ruling Congress and JD(S), with protesters channelling a pre-motorised era to hit out at the Centre for the rise in fuel prices.
In many parts of the State, motorcycles and vehicles were placed on bullock carts, or protesters rode on horses and donkeys to symbolise the return to animals for transportation as petrol and diesel prices have made it expensive to commute by vehicles.
Some others chose to depict their anger by manually pulling their cars or bikes.
In a few areas, protesters also brought along firewood, claiming that it was becoming too expensive for a household to use LPG cylinders to cook any more.
‘Additional burden’
“The skyrocketing price of domestic LPG under Modi rule has become an additional burden on the middle and poor classes,” said K. Neela, State vice-president of the Janavadi Mahila Sanghatane (JMS, who cooked food using firewood in Kalaburagi city.