OFF THE ROADS: The private bus stand in Madikeri wears a deserted look on account of Kodagu bandh on Thursday

Madikeri: The bandh observed in Kodagu district on Thursday in protest against the proposal of the Delimitation Commission to do away with one Assembly segment in Kodagu district, was total and peaceful.

The Delimitation Commission met in New Delhi on Thursday to consider the draft proposals.

Life came to a standstill in the district as public and private transport kept off roads. Shops, business and commercial establishments downed shutters to express solidarity with the bandh call given by political parties, social and cultural organisations, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other associations.

Attendance thin

Attendance was thin in government offices. However, hospitals and private clinics functioned as usual and chemists and druggists remained open.

Citizens locked up the Anechowkur gate, on the Kodagu-Mysore border in Virajpet taluk in the morning, blocking movement of traffic. Prominent among them were Addanda C. Cariappa, Virajpet taluk panchayat member; A.R. Krishna Kumar, former president of the Devarapura gram panchayat; and Sara Chengappa, leader of Kodagu Heggade community.

Traffic blocked

Stones were placed at different places in Thithimathi in Virajpet taluk to prevent movement of local vehicles. The Kutta-Tolpatti gate and Makutta gate, both bordering Kerala, were also blocked by protesters to stop vehicles from entering or leaving in Virajpet taluk.

In Madikeri taluk, the Sampaje gate on Kodagu-Dakshina Kannada border was locked as was the Karike gate bordering Kerala.

Protesters had felled trees across roads at Kodlipet and Byadagotta areas in Somwarpet taluk to prevent movement of vehicles. Stones were thrown at a KSRTC bus plying from Shanivarasante to Somwarpet in the morning. A truck carrying labourers from Arakalgud in Hassan to Malambi in Kodagu was stoned and the driver was assaulted by protesters. Trade establishments in Kushalnagar and Sunticoppa in Somwarpet taluk too remained closed.

In the morning, the Koppa gate bordering Kodagu-Mysore at Kushalnagar in Somwarpet taluk, was closed by protesters, who included the president of the zilla panchayat, H.S. Ashok. A Government vehicle was used to block the gate, which was later removed by the police.

Back in Madikeri, K.G. Bopaiah, Madikeri MLA; former Minister, Suma Vasant; and president of the Kodagu District Congress Committee, Veena Achaiah, led the people in staging a rasta roko at the General Thimmayya Circle to register their protest.

Shops and business establishments had gradually started opening after 5 p.m. Superintendent of Police, Subramanyeswara Rao, said police had not received any complaint of untoward incidents in the city.

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