Mangaluru: Common man bears the brunt of bandh

Mangaluru, Nov 13: Normal life was thrown out of gear in Mangaluru and other parts of Dakshina Kannada district on Friday, as public transport was stalled and basic necessities were unavailable in response to the bandh called by Sangh Parivar and Section 144 imposed by the district administration to largely prevent untoward incidents in the district.

Public transport services such as buses and auto rickshaws had been halted in wake of minor incidents of violence in Bantwal and Puttur on Thursday night. Almost all shops and showrooms remained closed on Friday on orders of closing from the deputy commissioner.

From malls and banks to tea stalls and petrol pumps, business fronts were shut, leaving people in the lurch. The hardest hit were common people who could not venture far from their houses or purchase household items. Even medical stores remained closed, putting a few in dire difficulty. Moreover, shutting of petrol pumps meant that movement of vehicles was limited.

However, the courts remained open and were functioning as usual.

Whereas, the prominent malls of the city such as Forum Fiza Mall and City Centre Mall remained closed to public. As the day wore on, even banks were shut down fearing the safety of employees.

Nandini, a housekeeper living in Bendoor, rued that she was unable to visit her home in Shaktinagar since there was no public transport. Meanwhile, her daughter Pinky's semester examination paper has been rescheduled two weeks ahead owing to the bandh on Friday. Some other students are less fortunate. Their semester paper has been postponed to a date in December, she informed.

Another student pursuing psychology in St Agnes College Vidya blamed fringe outfits for disrupting the daily life in Mangaluru and causing inconvenience to people. Citizens who need to venture out for emergencies cannot afford to do so; they are helpless. The violence is also part of the bandh - it is the innocents who suffer, she criticised, adding that peace was essential to keep innocents from being killed.

She said that incidents like the brutal assault and murder of an innocent youth in Bantwal on Thursday night for seemingly no reason, caused an atmosphere of fear among youth.

Mother of three children Sidra said that it was good that precautionary measures like Section 144 was clamped in Mangaluru and holiday was declared for schools in advance by the district administration. The security measures will also largely prevent further untoward incidents, she said.

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