Farmers Movement Archive

Mixed response to Karnataka bandh

The call for a Karnataka bandh, by various farmers’ organisations opposing the recent farm Bills, received a mixed response in the State on Monday. Bengaluru city saw protests by several groups but there was little impact on daily life, with most shops and establishments open, though traffic remained relatively thin. In contrast, the bandh was more pronounced in Kalyana Karnataka, where shops were shut and transport not plying. The call also received no response in the coastal districts. Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan, Tumakuru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, and other districts saw a mixed response. At Bengaluru, while cabs and autorickshaws mostly did not ply, all other public transport and commercial establishments worked as usual. However, the city witnessed massive protests by farmers, Kannada organisations, and the Congress against the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Karnataka APMC (Amendment) Bill, 2020, recently passed in the Assembly. As traffic was sparse, the protests did not lead to any traffic chaos. Farmers blocked key highways across the city, while Kannada organisations tried to gherao railway stations and the Kempegowda International Airport, but were taken into preventive custody. Multiple protests held across the city congregated in front of Town Hall. Farmers held a mock funeral procession of a large plough to indicate the farm Bills piloted by the government will cause immense harm. Farmers elsewhere in the State held similar protests. A.T. Ramaswamy, JDS MLA, sat alone with a placard that read “Down with laws that are anti-farmer and anti-poor” at Arkalgud taluk office in Hassan. The Congress held a public rally in support of the protesting farmers in the city, and met Governor Vajubhai Vala and urged him to reject the Bills. “Both the Union and the State governments have to withdraw the farm Bills that will pave way to the corporatisation of agriculture and kill small and medium farmers,” farmers’ leader Badagalpura Nagendra said in Bengaluru, adding that there was no consultation with stakeholders before the Bill was tabled in the Assembly. A senior police official said that the bandh passed off peacefully without any untoward incident reported from the State.

The Hindu

2020-09-29

Bengaluru