Mangalore: Bundh Total in District as Private Buses Go off Road after Stone Pelting
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (GA)
Mangalore, Aug 20: The speculations that All-India bundh call given by CPI will not be having any effect in the district have been proved wrong, after private buses stopped plying in the early hours of Wednesday August 20. Most of the educational institutions, commercial offices, banks have pulled their shutters down in support of the bundh call. Thus it could be said that there is almost total response to bundh call in the city in particular and district in general.
It all started after some miscreants set a few tyres on fire near Kannur mosque on NH 48 around 4 am on Wednesday. When the Kankanady police arrived on the spot to bring situation under control, they were greeted with stones pelting by miscreants. The police then resorted to mild caning to disperse the miscreants from the spot.
Once the police left the spot, a private bus belonging to RK Groups, which was on its way to the city was damaged in stone pelting. Four passengers who were travelling in the bus sustained minor injuries in the stone pelting.
A KSRTC bus which was arriving to the city in the early morning too was greeted with stones at Kankandy. One passenger was injured in the incident.
Some miscreants pelted stones at some city buses near Urwa-Ashoknagar area. Sources said that a total of 8 buses have been damaged in stone pelting and 10 people have sustained minor injuries. Road leading the Faisalnagar from Bajal too has been blocked with stones by the miscreants.
Following these incidents of violence, bus owners decided to stop bus service as against their decision not to support bundh call earlier. Once private buses went off road, almost every activity came to standstill in the district. Since private buses are the lifeline of the coastal belt, miscreants often target them in order to throw public life off gear in these districts. Though KSRTC buses are plying, people are preferring to stay indoors without wanting to invite any unwanted risk.