Protests were held in several parts of the city, including Chamaraja Circle, City Bus stand, and Suburban bus stand on Monday while the call for Mysuru bandh elicited a mixed response. After a recent incident at the Republic Day celebrations where a portrait of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was removed during the event, various Dalit organisations demanded action against the Principal District and Sessions Judge of Raichur over his alleged role in the incident.
Shops and business establishments in K.R. Circle, D. Devaraj Urs Road, Sayyaji Rao Road, Ashoka Road and other parts of Central Business District (CBD) remained closed and operation of KSRTC buses was disrupted in view of the demonstrations held by various organisations in front of City Bus stand and suburban bus stand. The protesters chanted slogans against the judge and the State Government.
The protests in the CBD had a cascading effect in adjoining areas where movement of traffic was affected.
Though shops and commercial establishments in many other parts of the city remained open, there were reports that activists had asked many business establishments to down shutters in some areas. While many schools and colleges functioned normally, activists entered a few colleges and appealed to the students to join the protest.
Early on Monday morning, a group of activists reached the vegetable market on M.G. Road behind Dasara Exhibition Grounds and asked the traders to halt their businesses for the day.
The Congress also extended support, with party MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah and MLC Thimmaiah, former MLAs M.K. Somashekar, Kalale Keshavamurthy, and Vasu joining the protesters along with party leaders B.J. Vijaykumar, R. Murthy and Harish Gowda, besides several party workers near Chamaraja circle.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Organisations and Associations of Mysuru and Hotel Owners Association of Mysuru stated that they won’t join the strike. In a statement, federation’s president B.S. Prashant said that the closure of shops and business establishments would hit them badly. Traders had already suffered due to the lockdown declared during COVID-19. The federation would only extend moral support to the agitation, he added. Similarly, president of the Hotel Owners Association of Mysuru Narayan Gowda said hotels and restaurants fell under the category of essential services and their closure will lead to inconvenience to many tourists.
