The Bengaluru City Police Commissioner said that the free movement of people will be guaranteed.
Karnataka farmers are holding a statewide bandh on Monday, September 28, in protest against state and union governments ruled by the BJP for the controversial recently introduced farm and land use laws. The call for a strike between 6 a.m. Farmers have also threatened to block all state and national highways.
Police across the state, including Bengaluru, will keep a close watch to maintain law and order and allow the free movement of people.
“We will not allow anyone to restrict the movement of people. We will make the appropriate security arrangements. We will have 12,000 civilian police, 47 platoons from KSRP (Karnataka State Reserve Police), 24 platoons from CAR (City Armed Reserve). Four additional commissioners, 16 DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) will patrol the city, ”Bengaluru City Commissioner Kamal Pant told TNM.
While the state government has said that normal life will not be affected, many private stakeholders, including those in Bengaluru, have volunteered their support for the strike.
Public buses and the metro are likely to operate normally, while taxis and car services will be affected.
Speaking on Bandh, Laxman Savadi’s Senior Deputy Minister, who has the transport portfolio, clarified that the services of the four trucking corporations, including the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, will be available, and the Department of Police that provide additional security.
Meanwhile, taxi and auto services are likely to be affected across the state.
Tanveer Pasha, president of Ola TaxiForSure and Uber Drivers’ Association, said there will be no app taxis during the bandh. Similarly, the Peace Automobile and Taxi Association, the Bharath Vehicle Drivers Union have also said that they will not operate during Bandh hours.
Since the beginning of the previous week on Monday, Bengaluru had seen many protests from Dalit farmers and groups who want the government to repeal the newly introduced reforms.
The state government has passed the Karnataka Land Reform Ordinance 2020 (Amendment), the Karnataka Agricultural Marketing Ordinance (Regulation and Development) (Amendment), 2020, and Industrial Disputes and Some Other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020. Al the same time, the Union On September 20, the government passed the Essential Products Bill (Amendment), the Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill of Agricultural Products and Farmers Trade (Promotion and Facilitation) 2020 and the Agreement of the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) on Guarantee of Prices and Agricultural Services circumstances.
According to the protesters and the opposition, these laws are harmful to small farmers, especially the Daits, who still have small plots of land. This is because the pre-existing roofs on land ownership and the income barrier to land ownership are thinning, creating an ideal terrain for land grabbing. Additionally, they say deregulation of the Essential Products Act and APMC laws will also leave farmers at the mercy of corporations.
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