Bandh over stalled water projects affects life in Karnataka

A state-wide bandh in Karnataka, called by a Federation of Kannada Organisations demanding implementation of stalled inter-state irrigation and drinking water projects, brought normal life to a grinding halt in the state with shops, hotels, petrol bunks, cinema theatres, schools, colleges and offices remaining shut on Saturday.

The public transport also remained off the streets. The bandh which had the tacit support of the ruling Congress party was called to demand that the state and central government must implement the Kalasa-Banduri drinking water project in the Hubballi- Gadag region in North Karnataka and Mekedatu drinking water project near Bengaluru. The bandh though peaceful affected life in most of the state except for coastal Karnataka and the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. People in the northern district of Raichur did not observe the bandh as a mark of a protest against not being chosen to be the site of a new Indian Institute of Technology.

The bandh affected life in a major way in Bengaluru with the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) going off the road. Many people who arrived at the central Kempe Gowda Bus Station from other parts of the state were seen waiting endlessly for transport. The few autorickshaws that were on the road demanded exorbitant fares from passengers. The Bengaluru traffic police booked many autorickshaws for demanding excess fare from commuters. KSRTC and BMTC buses started operations only around 6 pm on Saturday.