PROTEST: Dalit activists holding a demonstration at Gandhi Chowk in Bijapur on Tuesday.

BIJAPUR: Barring minor incidents of stone-throwing, the bandh in Bijapur and Muddebihal was largely peaceful on Tuesday. Dalit organisations had given a bandh call to protest the defiling of an Ambedkar statue in Kanpur and killing of Dalits in Kairlanji.

Some miscreants pelted stones at a Bangalore-Bijapur bus belonging to the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) near Ibrahimpur locality here at around 6.30 a.m.

Another NWKRTC bus was stoned near the railway station overbridge. The NWKRTC authorities decided to withdrew bus services at 7 a.m.

As a result, hundreds of passengers were stranded in the main bus stand for hours.

The long route buses, which were to pass through the city were diverted from the outskirts. As autorikshaws were also off the roads, passengers who got down on the city outskirts were forced to walk with their baggage. Most of the shops and business establishments remained closed.

Most educational institutions also declared a holiday. Hundreds of activists belonging to different Dalit organisations gathered at Ambedkar Chowk blocking vehicular movement. They raised slogans demanding the ouster of the Governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra for failing to safeguard the interests of Dalits. Motorists were put to severe hardship as police closed many roads as a precautionary measure.

The NWKRTC resumed bus service at 3 p.m. and autorikshaws also started plying by evening. Hotels, shops and business establishments opened late afternoon. Two cases have been registered with regard to stone-pelting incidents. According to the police, no arrests have been made. A protest march was held also in Mudhol town of Bagalkot district.

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