BANGALORE: The Bangalore bandh, called by pro- Kannada activists protesting over the unveiling of the saint poet Thiruvalluvar statue in Bangalore, turned out to be a damp squib as public did not respond to the call and spent their Sunday as usual. Shops and other business establishments were active in city as the trasnporation remained normal throughout.
There was no signs of any bandh or tension in any part of the city barring a few isolated protests by a handful of people in a few places. There was an elaborat bandhobust in city by the police as a precautionary measure due to the bandh called by the Kannada organisations. Sixty KSRP and CAR platoons were on vigil at many parts of the city. 45 ACPs, 200 police inspectors, 500 police sub inspectors, over 1000 head constables and constables, over 1000 home guards were deployed in sensitive areas.
Hundreds of mobile police vehicles were keeping a vigil on the roads to ensure peace. The police had been even deployed on the outskirts of the city to avert any protests. The city, however, witnessed some traffic snarls in and around Halsuru as thousands of people thronged the venue where the statue was unveiled. There were also some alteractions between the police and the enthusiastic participants.
Kannada activists held: Meanwhile, police arrested about 75 pro-Kannada activists in several parts of the city for staging a protest against the unveiling the statue. The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists were protesting in Malleshwaram, Moodalapalya and other parts of the city, but were arrested by the city police. They were also shouting slogans against the police.