A Flop Called Bharat Bandh: Business As Usual In Karnataka; Most Services Unaffected 

Bharat Bandh, which has been called by the central trade unions, has received a poor response in Bengaluru and most parts of Karnataka. The two-day strike beginning today has had very little effect as services continue normally.

Public transportation, commercial establishments and businesses are running normally. BMTC, KSRTC, autos and cab operators are functioning as usual.

The crowd, however, is less on the streets.

Deccan Herald quoted a senior KSRTC official as saying, “We started our operations, as usual, depending on the people’s response. We will take a call to stop services or not. We can see most BMTC and KSRTC buses are running empty. It will be a huge burden for us if we operate like this for two days.”

Many schools and colleges have declared a holiday on both days, and traffic has reduced substantially, as compared to normal days. Police have been deployed across the city to maintain law and order.

At Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, the bandh has had no effect at all as cab services are operating normally. AICTU members have been denied permission to enter the premises. Instead, they carried out a bike rally around Yelahanka area.