Bengaluru: The protests over the Cauvery issue led to a bandh like situation in the city with all commercial establishments rolling down their shutters.
As soon as violence was reported at Byatarayanapura, pro Kannada activists went on bikes and forcefully shut shops across the city. Commercial activity in the Central Business District (CBD) was hit due to this with establishments on MG Road, Brigade Road and surrounding areas shutting down.
The activists also forced shopkeepers at Indiranagar, Koramanagala, Domlur, Rajarajeshwarninagar, Vijayanagar, Chandra Layout, Halasur, Commercial Street and other localities to close their shops. Even shops in localities like Chikpet, Upparpet, Avenue Road, Cottonpet, Majestic, KR Market and others in the heart of the city downed shutters.
Buses lined up at Satellite bus stand in Bengaluru on Monday
Malls too sensing trouble closed shop. In Malleshwaram, activists of a pro-Kannada group barged inside Mantri Mall and shouted slogans threatening to vandalise the mall if it was not closed.
The situation was no different in other reputed malls. There was no screening of movies, including Kannada films after multiplexes and single screen cinemas stopped operations after the violence.
IT companies stopped functioning and advised their employees to work from home. Speaking to DC, Mr Suraj Singh Negi, CEO, Product Innovation Academy located in Koramangala said, "At around 2 pm we got information about the protest taking a violent turn. We immediately informed our employees to stop working and leave office. As BMTC buses were cancelled, we had to arrange cabs for our employees to reach their homes safely.”
Pro-Kannada outfits were seen targeting techies working in ITPL demanding that they close shop. Most IT companies located in Electronic City, Mahadevapura, CV Raman Nagar, KR Puram and Whitefield fearing attacks, closed their offices. A techie working for a leading MNC said, “All the employees received a mail from the HR wing saying we could work from home till further intimation.”
Even BMTC buses were targeted at Sumanahalli bus depot in the city. The buses were parked inside the depot. According to the officials there is no clue on who attacked these buses.
