October 9, 11-15 pm
by Richie Lasrado, Resident Editor
Pics Dayanand Kukkaje
- Will Vinayanna's words fall on deaf ears?
Mangalore: Eminent and highly-respected corporate head, educationist and community leader Nitte Vinay Hegde made a very valid point at a peace meeting of different communities on Sunday.
He called for a total ban on bundhs and also did some plainspeak by saying the elite and the business community has been bending over backwards to the muscle power of those calling for these senseless anti-social acts for too long.
Today our society is at the mercy of fifteen people, he said cryptically, which was heard in a deafening kind of silence. It is time the citizens and the entrepreneurial community showed some spine and stood up to this nonsense, he said in essence. He wouldn't have hit the nail anywhere else or any better.
It's time our elected representatives showed some responsibility and opposed any such bundhs. It's ironical to hear those in power today seeking a 'bundh' on 'bundhs' at this stage when the damage has already been done, while they themselves led bundhs and held the city or district to ransom, not so long ago.
The NDTV crew interviewing curfew-hit citizens in Bijai market
TV outdoor vans, never seen before in the city
If Mangalore earned a place in the international aviation map with a flight from Dubai landing here on October 3, the very next day the turmoil was begun by a 'bundh' which escalated into a wide-scale conflagration, resulting in a loss of millions of rupees and thousands of manhours.
Did we deserve all this?
And today we bow our heads in shame as several national TV channels, having pitched their tents here, show us bare to the world, while international print media right from the International Herald Tribune to the Straits Times carries the name of Mangalore for all the wrong reasons. Did we deserve this?
Then it becomes incumbent upon our business, religious and community leaders, social activists and thinkers to heed Vinayanna's words and put their heads together to stop this menace, once and for all.
Will it happen?
Update 7.30 pm, IST
Mangalore: Curfew to be Lifted During the Day on Oct 10
Oct 9: Curfew will be lifted between 7 am and 7 pm on Oct 10. However section 144 will be imposed for ensuring security and peace.
Speaking to Daijiworld, SP B Dayananda said that Mangalore and around has been peaceful and the police has left no stone unturned to restore peace and avert any untoward incidents.
Forming groups in public places is not permitted under Section 144. However, schools and colleges have been declared holiday in Mangalore and in Ullal regions.
Union Minister of state for Home Prakash Jaiswal who spoke after his visit to the riot-affected areas said that a report will be submitted to the Central Government with details of the communal clashes that triggered violence in Mangalore and regions around.
The state government will have to look into the issue of compensation to those affected by riots. Meeting of the peace committee should also be held, he said making his observation that the police force in the region was inadequate.
Jaiswal also informed that the Governor of Karnataka had not submitted a report to central government.
“Such a prolonged curfew is not good for the region. Peace must be restored at the earliest,” Jaiswal opined.
Mangalore and around remained peaceful with no major incidence of violence. However, a total of 158 cases related to the riots have been registered so far.
Mangalore Bundh and Violence - Complete Coverage with Photo Albums
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