SECURITY: A police vehicle escorting NEKRTC buses during the Gulbarga bandh called by Hyderabad Karnataka Janapara Horata Samiti and supported by different political parties demanding regular supply of drinking water, in Gulbarga on Friday.

GULBARGA: The response to the separate bandh calls given by the Hyderabad Karnataka Janapara Horata Samiti and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) on Friday to protest against the drinking water crisis in Gulbarga was mixed and life in the city remained unaffected.

The bandh call given by the samiti was supported by many political parties, including the Congress, Janata Dal (U) and social organisations such as the Ambedkar Horata Samiti and others. The SUCI organised a bandh to protest against "the continued indifferent attitude of the elected representatives and the Government to find a permanent solution to the drinking water crisis in the city".

Shops owners who initially downed their shutters opened their shops in the afternoon. Even shops in the busy Super Market and Bande Bazaar and Kiran Bazaar localities that remained closed for some time were opened later.

The North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation which had withdrawn bus services in the morning later resumed regular services with police protection. Buses leaving for outstation and mofussil areas were escorted out of the city by police jeeps and vans. Buses coming to Gulbarga from other centres were also provided police escort services.

However, the private buses and mini buses were off the road. Other modes of transport such as autorickshaws and cycle rickshaws plied as usual. While most petrol stations remained closed, a few that remained opened made roaring business.

Members of the samiti and the SUCI organised two separate processions as part of their agitation and presented memoranda to the District Deputy Commissioner listing out their demands. The demands of the samiti included daily supply of drinking water to all localities that were covered under the piped water supply scheme. They urged the authorities to take steps to install new pipelines in these areas to provide water supply to overcome the drinking water shortage.

The samiti also demanded that the State Government hand over bulk supply of drinking water to the city and internal distribution of the purified water to the residents to the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) as was done in Mysore, Belgaum and Hubli-Dharwad City Corporation limits. At present, the KUWSDB provided bulk water supply to the city, and the corporation is in charge of internal distribution.

The SUCI in its memorandum demanded a permanent solution to the present problem of artificial scarcity of drinking water in the city and asked the authorities to give up plans to privatise drinking water.

The bandh passed off peacefully without any untoward incident and the police had made elaborate security arrangements in the city.

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