The dawn-to-dusk statewide bandh called by pro-Kannada groups to protest the alleged assault on a state-run bus conductor in Belagavi last month for not knowing Marathi passed off peacefully on Saturday.
There were no untoward incidents as police made elaborate arrangements to prevent any disruption of law and order during the shutdown.
Ahead of the bandh, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara appealed to people to protest peacefully, warning that any attempt to disturb law and order or resort to vandalism would be dealt with an iron hand.
In several parts of the state, pro-Kannada groups took to the streets, staging protests and urging shopkeepers to support the bandh. However, most shops remained open as usual.
In Bengaluru, activists gathered at Mysore Bank Circle, raising slogans and holding placards.
Some demonstrators staged a protest at the BMTC and KSRTC bus stands in Majestic, urging bus drivers and conductors to support the bandh. As their agitation intensified, police took them into preventive custody. Leading the agitation, Kannada Chalavali (Vatal Paksha) convener Vatal Nagaraj staged a demonstration at Majestic. He termed the bandh a “success”, claiming that bus stands were deserted, many shopkeepers had shut their shops, and several autorickshaw drivers stayed off the roads. Nagaraj stated that he had explained to both the government and the people why his organisation had called for the bandh.
He further claimed that over 3,000 Kannada activists were taken into preventive custody on Friday night itself.
Nagaraj was also detained as he began his protest at Town Hall, accompanied by Kannada filmmaker Sa Ra Govindu.
In Mysuru, some pro-Kannada activists staged a sit-in protest, blocking buses at the suburban bus stand. They staged a dharna near the exit gate to prevent buses from leaving for Bengaluru and other parts of the state.
Some pro-Kannada activists were taken into preventive custody after they attempted to stop a KSRTC bus in Mysuru.
Similar protests took place in Davangere, where demonstrators took to the streets.
