Normal life was affected in Mangaluru in Karnataka on Thursday due to a strike called by some Kannada organisations to agitate for the implementation of a very old report of a committee on providing more jobs for Kannadigas in the government and the private sectors, India Today reported.
Protestors hurled stones at a Tirupati to Mangaluru bus in Farangipet locality of Mangaluru on Thursday morning, ANI reported. The stone pelting caused some damage to the bus, shattering some of its windows. No one was injured in the incident.
Services of app-based taxis and of autorickshaws were affected in Mangaluru. However, bus services continued to operate normally and schools and colleges remained open.
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa appealed to the protestors not to indulge in violence or cause inconvenience to the public. “Those agitating, if they are willing to talk to me, I’m always ready to talk to them,” he said. “We have already done several things that are possible [to implement the Sarojini Mahishi Report], what other things can be done, I’m ready to talk to them.”
The Sarojini Mahishi Report was submitted in 1984 by a committee headed by former Union minister Sarojini Mahishi. It made 58 recommendations, including 100% reservation for Kannadigas in all public sector units, in “Group C” and “Group D” departments in the central government and public sector units operating in Karnataka.
The Bangalore University had on Wednesday announced that examinations would be postponed to avoid inconvenience to students on Thursday, The News Minute reported. A protest rally is set to be held in the city’s Maurya Circle and Freedom Park area on Thursday. However, traffic, shops and establishments and other schools and colleges in Bengaluru remained unaffected by the bandh.
Right-wing outfit Karnataka Rakshana Vedike said it does not support the strike, and alleged that it was being done for publicity. “The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike is committed to implementation of recommendations in the Sarojini Mahishi report but we don’t support any bandh today,” the outfit’s chief Praveen Shetty said. “There will be no protests or bandh by the Vedike.”
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