Poor support for Bharath Bandh in Karnataka

Bengaluru: The planned Bharath Bandh on December 8 to protest the new Farm Acts was met with feeble responses from most major cities in Karnataka. Government offices, banks etc. remained functional despite the call for a Bandh.

In rural areas in districts where farmers have some sway, including Mandya and Mysuru districts, there have been incidents of farmers asking the shops to be shut down.

However, most of the major cities like Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Dharwad etc. did not have much stirring.Businesses continued as usual.

Colleges that have begun conducted classes as well. The protests were short and did not have many people joining in. Despite the call for a state wide Bandh, it seemed like it was not taken seriously.

However, the Congress and several regional parties joined the protestors in their sit ins and road blockades, showing their support to the farmers.

In addition to the lack of response from the public, the chief minister, too has claimed that there is no support for the Bandh in the state. Further, he stated that both the State and the Centre are pro-farmer and would not do anything to harm them.