Though the response to Bharat Bandh on Tuesday against the recently passed farm laws was mixed in the State - with life in Bengaluru in particular going on as usual - the day was marked by widespread protests by farmer organisations, a host of civil society organisations and political opposition.
Farmers across the State blocked highways at multiple points, stopped public transport in certain districts and cooked on the streets as a mark of protest. There was also considerable anger against the State government over the amendments to Karnataka Land Reforms Act and Karnataka APMC Act. Slogans condemning Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa also rang the air, besides opposition to the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The response to the bandh call was more pronounced in northern parts such as Kalyana Karnataka and Mumbai Karnataka districts than in the southern parts. Life was mostly unaffected in the coastal districts and Bengaluru. All Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yards remained closed across the State. The farm laws allow private players to set up mandis, which is feared to kill APMCs in a few years.
Protesting farmers stopped public transport in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Koppal, Gangavathi and several other pockets of Kalyana Karnataka, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad and Haveri among other districts. However, public transport remained unaffected in Mysuru, Bengaluru, Mangaluru and other districts. Taxis, autorickshaws and other modes of transport functioned normally across the State. However, commuters remained thin across the State. Commercial establishments were only partially closed in Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Mysuru and Hubballi, while the bandh call did not have any effect elsewhere.
Several people including agriculture economist Prakash Kammaradi, farmer leaders Kuruburu Shantakumar and Badagalpura Nagendra were detained by the police in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening as they staged a flash protest against the Legislative Council passing the Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2020. “On one hand, the PM speaks of doubling farmers’ income and claims he is a farmer’s leader. But on the other hand, they pass anti-farmer laws. The farmers have awakened now,” said G.C. Bayyareddy, State convenor, All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, at one of the protests. Farmers protested against farm laws also by dumping produce on the streets, for instance in Kolar.
M. Ramesh, a serviceman, joined the farmer’s protest in Hubballi, in uniform. Being a farmer’s son he wanted to support the agitation, he told mediapersons. The police detained him. Former Union Minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Cabinet and former BJP MP Babagouda Patil joined the farmer’s stir in Belagavi.
KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar joined a farmer’s rally by KRRS at Town Hall. Several leaders from Congress, Left parties, trade unions and Dalit organisations joined the protests across the State. Though the JD(S) supported the bandh call, it did not actively take part in the bandh and protests.
