Bengaluru: While the city slowly crawled back to normal by Tuesday evening, for many Bengalureans who hadn't anticipated a curfew on Tuesday, it was a bolt from the blue. Most of the shopkeepers, who had shut doors after a forced bandh on Monday evening, continued to keep their businesses shut on Tuesday evening too.
Monday’s violence hit not just the 16 police station limits where the cops imposed curfew, but across the city, especially areas on the fringes like Kengeri, Uttarahalli, Jnan Bharati among others. With most of the shops shut, Bengalureans struggled to get daily essentials like vegetables and groceries.
With patrolling policemen shooing away people from roads even in residential areas where there was no violence, the deserted roads brought back memories of 1991 Cauvery protests.
Mr Manjunath, a resident of Padmanabhanagar, who was sent home by the cops, complained, "We understand that the police were trying to ensure our safety and didn't want people on the road. But for many of us, who were out to buy commodities, the curfew was a shock. We anticipated protests in some areas, but did not expect the city to completely shut down on Tuesday. I went around four to five areas, but could not find any pharmacy, vegetable vendor or supermarket open. It was very inconvenient, but we somehow managed till evening."
In some areas, where vegetable carts were doing the rounds, the people had to pay exorbitant sums for common vegetables and fruits, as all shops were shut. Ms Shasikala, a homemaker, said, “The carrot was being sold for Rs 90 per kilo when it was jut Rs 35 on Monday. Prices of most of the vegetables have more than doubled in one evening. As shops were not open in our locality, I had no option but to pay what the hawker demanded. The violence, deserted roads, curfew and sky-high rates are all reminders of what happened in the state in 1991. I was happy to see the city return to normal by evening." Shops, restaurants, malls and public transport opened by evening, but still the streets were empty.
