The call for Bharat Bandh by farmers organisations seeking repeal of the three new farm laws received lukewarm response from the people of various districts in North Karnataka with support being restricted to only demonstrations at important junctions.
In both Hubballi and Dharwad and also other places in the region, members of various farmers organisations took out protest marches and in some places,, the police outnumbered the protestors. The farmers were joined by leaders of Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Janata Dal(S) and Left parties in some districts.
In Hubballi, only a handful of protestors gathered at Hosur Circle early in the morning in a futile bid to stop bus services. After staging a dharna on the road, they moved to Kittur Chennamma Circle to hold a similar protest. After a while there, the protestors, led by Janata Dal(S) leader Siddu Teji, were forcefully evicted from the landmark junction following an altercation with the police. Mr. Teji said that the police were acting like agents of the BJP and were not allowing a peaceful protest to go on.
A little later, members of various organisations, including the former MLA N.H. Konaraddi, Congress leaders Babajan Mudhol, Rajashekhar Menasinakai, Mohan Hiremani, Deepa Gouri, members of Left parties, including B.A. Mudhol, and others, staged a protest. The protest was restricted to going around Kittur Chennamma Circle raising slogans against the Union government and seeking repeal of the farm laws. Another group of protestors also staged a similar protest on Hubballi-Dharwad Bypass Road near Gabbur for a while.
Meanwhile, life went on as usual with vehicles, public transport buses, autorickshaws and private vehicles operating on the roads without any hassles. Shops and commercial establishments functioned as they do on any normal day. It was only because of the precautionary measures taken by the police, including barricading the roads leading to Kittur Chennamma Circle, that motorists had to take circuitous routes to reach their destinations.
In almost all the districts of North Karnataka, similar scenes were witnessed with protestors staging demonstrations in support of the bandh call, while life remained unaffected.
In Dharwad too, demonstrations were held by members of the Raita Hitarakshana Parivar and other organisations. Meanwhile, the indefinite dharna by Raita Hitarakshana Parivar crossed 50 days and every day, farmers from different places are participating in the agitation.
