Protesting farmers to block highways today

BENGALURU: The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Aikya Horata Samithi plan to block all highways across the state on Friday. This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing sit-in protest by farmers in Bengaluru since Monday against the passage of the ‘contentious’ farm Bills in Parliament and the state’s Land Reforms Amendment Act which was tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday.

The protest will continue till Saturday when the monsoon session of the Karnataka Legislature ends. The organisers said there will be a ‘Karnataka Bandh’ on Monday as part of the national bandh call and all commercial and other establishments will remain closed. About 29 organisations including the Hasiru Sena, human rights organisations and Karnataka Truck Owners’ Association have extended support.

In Bengaluru, more than 2,000 farmers will stage protest at Mysore Bank Circle. Traffic around K R Circle, K G Road, Corporation Circle, Nrupatunga Road is expected to be affected till afternoon and heavy police deployment has been made to manage the situation.The organisers said that important highways leading to the city, including Ballari Road, Hosur Road, Kanakapura Road, Mysuru-Bengaluru highway, NICE Road and Tumakuru highway will be blocked till Friday evening.