The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Protest leads to violence, traffic jam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 10, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Protest leads to violence, traffic jam

Staff Reporter

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

SECURITY TIGHTENED: The scene at Huskur APMC Yard in Bangalore after a protest turned violent on Thursday.

BANGALORE: The police resorted to a lathi charge on Thursday to disperse fruit merchants and labourers of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Yard at Huskur on Hosur Road when they took to stone-throwing during a demonstration.

Five policemen, including Deputy Superintendent of Police (Bangalore Sub-division) M. Shankarappa, were injured and a few buses were damaged in the stone-throwing. One of the protesters, Aiyappa, suffered a head injury after he was hit by a stone. Some protesters suffered bruises in the lathi charge.

The merchants and labourers were staging a demonstration to protest against the “increasing crimes” and absence of basic amenities at the APMC Yard. Nearly 500 people blocked Hosur Road and refused to disperse until their grievances were addressed. When the police were evicting the protesters, some of them started throwing stones at them.

“As they started hurling stones at policemen and stranded vehicles, we resorted to lathi charge to disperse them, Mr. Shankarappa told The Hindu.

Following the demonstration, traffic on Hosur Road was affected for nearly an hour. The trouble started around midnight on Wednesday when a group of people from a neighbouring village had a scuffle with the APMC Yard workers and they allegedly snatched a mobile phone from one of the workers.

On Thursday, workers and merchants gathered at the yard and decided to protest against Wednesday’s attack and also the absence of security and basic amenities such as drinking water and toilets at the yard.

After the protesters were dispersed, a meeting of the APMC officials, police officers and merchants were held at the yard to sort out the problems.

The merchants demanded that a police outpost be set up at the yard to check crimes, Mr. Shankarappa said. The police have registered a case of rioting and tightened security at the yard by deploying additional forces.

According to the merchants, burglaries have been on the rise of late at the secluded yard.

In a recent incident, burglars struck at a shop owned by the Fruit Merchant’s Association president and made away with cash. Despite several appeals, the police have not tightened security at the yard, the merchants complained.

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