Why back-to-back bandhs failed to bring life to a grinding halt in Karnataka | Bengaluru News

BENGALURU: Call for back-to-back bandhs over the sharing of Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu initially triggered panic, with many anticipating violence. However, neither Tuesday’s Bengaluru bandh nor Friday’s Karnataka bandhcould bring the entire city or the state to a grinding halt, and, fortunately, saw zero incidents of violence or loss of property.Here, TOI highlights the six key reasons why these bandhs failed to make any significant impact on public life
A growing rift within the pro-Kannada groups was all too apparent. While one faction called for a Bengaluru bandh only, the other group was insistent on a Karnataka bandh. In fact, for two days, the pro-Kannada groups were busy negotiating amongst themselves to arrive at a consensus. This saw the intensity around the bandhs fizzle out.

Police in Bengaluru were quick to clamp prohibitory orders across the city to foil any attempt at violent protests or forcing people into observing a shutdown. More than 25,000 police personnel were deployed at strategic points to avert any untoward incident. This heavy deployment of boots on the ground kept troublemakers at bay.
Two bandhs in a week, with a general holiday thrown in between and another coming up early next week, presented a perfect opportunity for many to hit the “long weekend” mode. While a few chose to return to their hometowns, several others found the opportunity just right for a short family vacation. Supporting or opposing a socio-political cause was far from their viewfinders for sure.

Deputy chief minister and Bengaluru development minister DK Shivakumar repeatedly reminded bandh supporters and protesters that shutting down the capital and the state will serve little purpose. His statements delivered a strong message to the public that the government was not at all in favour of any disruption in public life.
The COVID-induced movement restrictions have taught people how to deal with the exigencies of a WFH regimen and the coping mechanisms kicked in during the bandhs – right from attending online classes to logging in remotely for that Zoom or Teams meeting with workmates. With 24×7 doorstep deliveries becoming more common, a complete shutdown looked like a thing of the past.

In the past, BMTC and KSRTC used to suspend their services after sporadic incidents of stone-pelting by bandh supporters. However, during these two bandhs, buses ran as normal. Even taxis were seen operating across Bengaluru.