Mysuru residents taken by surprise over bandh called by Dalit groups

Mysuru: A large number of people in Mysuru were taken by surprise after they found many shops and commercial establishments in the Central Business District closed on Wednesday.

Though various Dalit organisations, besides SDPI, were extending their support to the call for bandh on Wednesday in protest against allegedly insulting utterances by BJP leader and former MLC G. Madhusudan, the City police had denied permission to the organisations to enforce bandh.

Yet, groups owing allegiance to Dalit organisations took out a protest march through D. Devaraj Urs Road while some protesters asked shopkeepers to down their shutters.

BJP councillor Prashant was engaged in a verbal spat with protesters when he objected to them asking business and commercial establishments in the Central Business District to down shutters.

Apart from shops on D. Devaraj Urs Road and Sayyaji Rao Road, shops were closed even on Chamaraja Double Road. An employee of a two-wheeler showroom said their establishment was opened as usual on Wednesday morning, but a group of protesters arrived at the venue and asked him to down shutters.

The protesters also closed down the Regional Transport Office (RTO) on M.G. Road in Chamarajapuram in Mysuru, according to sources.

Shops and commercial establishments in most other parts of the City including residential areas, however, remained opened and conducted business as usual.

Though most schools functioned as usual, a few schools in N.R. Mohalla area had declared a holiday. Banks and financial institutions were open and KSRTC buses and autorickshaws plied as usual in most parts of the city.

The Dalit organisations had given the bandh call seeking action against Mr. Madhusudan for criticising the Constitution and B.R. Ambedkar, who wrote the Constitution.

Source: The Hindu