The people of Hassan and Chikkamagaluru districts, on Friday, felt the impact of Thursday’s violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which led to two deaths in police firing in neighbouring Mangaluru. Internet connectivity in some parts of Chikkamagaluru district was restricted and bus connectivity to Mangaluru was affected.
The residents of Sringeri, Koppa and N.R.Pura taluk experienced problems in internet connectivity on cellphones. Some of them got messages from their service providers stating that the internet has been restricted following instructions from the government. However, there was no official notification from the district administration in this regard. Superintendent of Police of Chikkamagaluru Harish Pandey said there was no restriction on the internet in any part of the district. Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumara also said there was no decision from the administration on this issue.
The police had increased security at the checkpoints on inter-district main roads. The vehicles going to Dakshina Kannada via Charmadi Ghat were stopped by the policemen for checking. The district police had deployed additional policemen at the checkposts.
The KSRTC had restricted its services on NH 75 (Bengaluru-Mangaluru Road) on the day. Till afternoon, based on instructions from senior officers, KSRTC officials stopped Mangaluru-bound buses at Hassan bus-stand. Later, after analysing the situation in Mangaluru, the corporation resumed services up to Uppinangadi in Dakshina Kannada.
