Bengaluru:
Pro-Kannada groups today called for a 12-hour stopping in Karnataka to protest from last month's alleged attack on a bus conductor in Belagavi because she does not know Marathi. According to civil servants, extensive security schemes have been made by housing guards and the City Armed Reserve units for the closure from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the entire state.
The closure of the entire state will probably disrupt the transport services, because some trade unions for car rickshaw, cabin and private driver have extended their support. State control of transport companies such as Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will, however, remain operational.
While hotel associations, shopping centers, bars and restaurants have only offered “moral support”, essential services, including pharmacies, hospitals, ambulances, gas pumps and metropolis services operationally.
Despite the 12-hour closure, schools and colleges remain operational in the entire state. With some transport services that are likely to be disturbed, the BandH probably affects class 10 students who appear before the exams today.
Earlier, Karnataka Vice Prime Minister DK Shivakumar said that the state government would not encourage a closure in the state. “We will protect the interests of the state. Everyone must keep peace and follow the law. However, I think no Bandh is needed,” he said.
Some pro-kannada groups such as the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike factions led by Ta Narayana Gowda and Praveen Shetty-Have have abandoned participation in the protest.
Belagavi attack and the dispute of Maharashtra-Karnataka
Last month a conductor of a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus reportedly was attacked by a group of men because he did not respond to a passenger in Marathi. According to the conductor's complaint, a girl had asked for a ticket in Marathi. When he said he did not understand Marathi and asked her to speak in Kannada, she and her male companion would have attacked him.
The situation escalated quickly when a larger group intercepted the bus and the conductor physically attacked.
While the police arrested four people involved in the attack, the bus conductor was also booked under the protection of children against sexual offenses (POCSO) after the girl had filed a complaint with the fact that 'indecent behavior' was claimed.
A day after the incident, a bus driver of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was attacked in Hiriyur Taluk by Karnataka's Chitradurga -District – in what seemed to be a retaliation act. The victim, Bhaskar Jadhav, was black with paint due to non -created individuals. Days later, an Ultra-Luxe KSRTC bus was destroyed in Maharashtra, with slogans such as 'Jai Maharashtra', 'Marathi' and 'Maharashtra Navnirman Sena' scribbled over his body in black paint.
As the tensions deepen, Maharashtra announced a stop to MSRTC bus services to Karnataka. The southern state also reduced his bus services to Maharashtra.
