BENGALURU: Several events in Bengaluru were cancelled on Friday as the city came to a standstill for Karnataka bandh. Small gatherings, music events, stand-up comedy shows and theatre shows were either postponed to next week or got cancelled.
An event scheduled at the Indian Music Experience Museum by Padma Shri Pandit Ritwik Sanyal got postponed to another date, as the museum remained closed in support of the state-wide bandh.
SPARSH Hospital had scheduled to organize a yoga session to create awareness of heart health, was cancelled because of the limited access to public transport. The event was to be held on the occasion of World Heart Day on Friday.
Inauguration of an Underground Film Club which was scheduled to be held in Indiranagar, was also postponed to end of October. Ladies Only, a film by Rebana Liz John was scheduled to be screened the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) was also postponed to another date.
Organisers said that many of these events will either be rescheduled for mid-October or October end. Given the long weekend due to the bandh, many people are also travelling outside the city.
Not just events, but over 3,000 eateries, restaurants and bakeries were shut in Bengaluru to support the bandh, said members of the hotels and restaurants association. With most Friday night plans being interrupted by the bandh, restaurants, eateries, and breweries are also expected to face the impact. Many owners said that two bandhs in the same week has led to huge financial losses. Further, the long weekend until October 2 will only add to the losses as the customer footfall will decrease by 15-20 per cent.
Aditya Das, Chef at Gatsby Cocktails and Cuisines, told TNIE, “Reservations for the weekend are weak, however we have kept the operations running. The bandh will not affect the breweries and bars as they will be operational in the evening.” An employee of nother restro-bar, Raahi said, “We knew that this long weekend along with the bandh will affect the business significantly, however, we hope to recover the losses over the next couple of weekends.”