BENGALURU: Several pro-Kannada groups have called for a 12-hour statewide shutdown today (6 am to 6 pm) to protest the alleged assault of a KSRTC bus conductor in Belagavi last month for not knowing Marathi. Authorities have heightened security across Karnataka, deploying home guards and armed reserve units to maintain law and order.
Transport services may face disruptions as auto-rickshaw, cab, and private driver unions have supported the bandh. However, state-run KSRTC and BMTC buses are operational. Essential services like pharmacies, hospitals, ambulances, metro services, and petrol pumps remain unaffected.
Schools and colleges are open, but with transport uncertainty, Class 10 board exam students could face difficulties reaching exam centers.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar stated the government doesn’t endorse the bandh, urging citizens to maintain peace. Some pro-Kannada factions like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (TA Narayana Gowda and Praveen Shetty factions) have stayed away from the shutdown.
Background: The shutdown follows a clash in Belagavi where a KSRTC conductor was allegedly assaulted after failing to respond in Marathi. Later, retaliatory incidents included an MSRTC driver being attacked in Karnataka and a KSRTC bus vandalized in Maharashtra, escalating tensions between both states.
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