MOBILISING PEOPLE: A Kannada activist with `Karnataka bandh on Monday' painted on his back seeking support to the bandh at the State Bank of Mysore Circle in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: Bangalore will grind to a halt for 12 hours from 6 a.m. on Monday when the State-wide bandh by Kannada organisations to express their anger over what has been termed a "biased final verdict" of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal comes into effect.

Those arriving at bus terminals, railway stations and the airport in Bangalore will be put to inconvenience given the nature of the support that the bandh has received from all quarters, including autorickshaw and city taxi drivers' unions. Even private cars should find it difficult to reach railway stations and the airport to either drop or pick up passengers. All educational institutions have declared a holiday, and life outside homes is expected to come to a standstill.

People are making a beeline to vegetable markets and grocery stores as the bandh is expected to affect supply of essential commodities. All HOPCOMS outlets of the Horticulture Department will remain open on Sunday.

IT sector

The bandh is expected to hit the information technology sector and business process outsourcing firms. Employees in these sectors are expected to arrive at their workplaces well before the commencement of the bandh.

Government sources told The Hindu here on Saturday that the functioning of government offices would be hit on Monday as the Karnataka State Government Employees' Association and the Secretariat Employees' Association had expressed their support to the bandh.

Government employees have been asked to take a day's casual leave, in effect giving them a three-day weekend.

Work in the construction sector, already hit by a significant section of Tamil construction workers returning to their hometowns, is expected to come to a standstill. N. Venkataswamy, president of the Construction Workers' Federation affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said workers who had settled in the city with families would not venture out of homes.

Although not termed a State-sponsored bandh, in a way it has the support of the coalition Government. The bandh was earlier scheduled for Thursday but was put off following a request by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

The bandh is expected to hit life in southern parts of the State, particularly in the Cauvery basin districts of Hassan, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Tumkur and Bangalore Rural district.

The Mandya District Raitha Hitharakshana Samiti led by former Minister G. Made Gowda launched an indefinite dharna on Saturday. Transport and Mandya district in-charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy was among those participated in it. The Transport Minister told The Hindu that the government bus operations would depend on the situation.

Home Minister M.P. Prakash said that adequate security arrangements had been made in all districts.

In addition to civil police, District Armed Reserve, Karnataka State Reserve Police, Rapid Action Force and armed forces from other States have been deployed. Officers have been instructed to initiate stern action against those indulging in stone throwing, arson and looting, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Shankar Mahadev Bidari told The Hindu.

Adequate tear gas shells and rubber bullets would be carried by the armed reserve forces on duty, Mr. Bidari said.

President of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha and MLA Vatal Nagaraj, who is instrumental in giving the bandh call, said, "The bandh will be total and peaceful. I appeal to all sections of people to enable the authorities in maintaining peace. Through a peaceful bandh let us express our protest. I assure the people that all essential services will not be affected. It is for the railways and the airlines to cooperate. Any Kannadiga wanting any emergency assistance can call us."

President of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries R.C. Purohit said though FKCCI had not issued any directive, trade across the State, including APMC yards, would be affected.

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