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ShareBangalore: A day after communal violence claimed the lives of three people in Udayagiri in Mysore, the city appeared to limp back to normal on Friday. However residents feel that such religious tension can affect Mysore's image as a culturally rich city.
Especially with the Dasara less than three months away, people are afraid that this incident might affect the inflow of tourists during that time. Mysore has traditionally been famous for its Dasara celebrations and the city always had large number of people visiting it during that period of time.
"If the situation continues to remain tense till September when the Dasara is celebrated with all its fanfare in Mysore, the number of tourists visiting the city might drastically go down. This can impact the city's heritage status," Kantharj, a local businessman told DNA.
Another businessman, Lakshminarayan, said, "The Dasara is one season when business in Mysore gets a boost. If the trouble continues, it will really affect the economy of Mysore."
Meanwhile, the police are doing their best to bring back normalcy in Udayagiri. "We have held a flag march by the rapid Action Force (RAF). At least 45 persons were arrested on various charges of arson and rioting. Though the damage was estimated to be around Rs6 to Rs7 lakhs, we are really worried about the after effects, especially in view of Dasara festivities, the prestigious annual event that attracts tourists across the globe," deputy commissioner of police (law and order), VS D'Souza told DNA.
The prohibitory order under Section 144 IPC is still prevalent in the area and schools and other educational institutions are closed for the day. The director general of police Ajai Kumar Singh had visited the riot-hit areas, while additional director general of police (Law and Order) AR Infant is camping in the town, which had witnessed bitter battles between the police and local residents on Thursday.
A senior police officer stated that two RAF companies, 10 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons and 11 city armed reserve police platoons are camping in the area which is being considered communally sensitive.
