A state-wide shutdown was organised on March 22, Saturday, in Karnataka, which affected the transport services for commuters, businesses and educational institutions from 6 am to 6 pm.
The bandh in Karnataka was organised by a coalition of various pro-Kannada activist groups called Kannada Okkuta. They had called for strict against pro-Marathi activists for allegedly assaulting a KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) bus conductor in Belagavi for not speaking in Marathi.
They had also called for a ban on pro-Marathi organisations.
The incident had fanned the flames of a long history of linguistic disputes between Maharashtra and Karnataka, especially along the state borders.
Over 50 protesters had been detained on Saturday who were raising slogans and attempting to start a rally.
Protesters arrived at the Town Hall in groups, but the police intervened, stopping them and taking them to Freedom Park, following orders from Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda.
On Friday, Dayananda had warned of strict action if any rallies disrupted the public. However, Vatal Nagaraj, who had called for the bandh, remained determined to lead a rally from Town Hall.
Additional security was deployed in Belagavi, Bengaluru and other sensitive regions in the state.
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar stated that the government did not support the bandh, and that it was not the right approach towards dealing with the assault on the KSRTC bus conductor.
Third-party transport vendors such as Ola, Uber and a few rickshaw unions had backed the bandh, which would disrupt transport.
However, metro, railway and airport services will continue uninterrupted. Protestors in Bengaluru were detained by the police and taken to Freedom Park.
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