Empty markets mark success in Bangalore

Jam-free roads, amber traffic signals, closed shops and hardly any buses were what greeted Bangaloreans when they woke up to the day after Ganesha Chaturthi. The Bharat Bandh called by the opposition parties to protest against FDI in retail, cap on LPG cylinders, and the hike in diesel prices, was complete in the city.

A few shopkeepers who did try to open shops in the morning were forced to close down by bandh supporters who went around the city forcing people to participate in the strike. “We tried to open our shop in the morning,” said Raju V, a cashier at the Shanthi Sagar group of restaurants in Indiranagar. “But a few activists came and asked us to shut the shop,” he said. By afternoon though, shop owners began opening shutters — at first, halfway through —and started discreetly serving customers. The damage, however, was done and at least half the income for the day was lost.

While another holiday was welcome by school and college students, some citizens felt that a hike in diesel and a cap on LPG were unavoidable and that the bandh wouldn’t really yield any result. Others felt that the hike in diesel prices was too steep to swallow and the government did not consider the problems of the middle class.

“Citizens were not even given a say in the matter. This bandh only forced everyone to stay home. Will there be a rollback of diesel prices or a change in the FDI policy? I doubt it. LPG is an exhaustible resource. A cap on the number of cylinders will only make us more responsible when it comes to using LPG,” said Roland Pereira, senior analyst at an MNC in the city. “Ultimately, the bandh caused inconvenience for people,” he added.

Simon George, a retail shop owner in Indiranagar, said the bandh was needed. “I will have to leave my car at home now. I really cannot afford the hike in diesel prices. I support the bandh,” he said. Although his shop was not open for business, with the shutters half-down, employees cleaned the shop and caught up on work that had been pending for some time.

Srinivas Allavilli, an employee with an MNC, said the bandh may have been another holiday for most Bangaloreans or another work-from-home day. However, he said by forcing everything to shut down, it was the lower-middle class and lower-income group of people who suffered. “Small hotel owners, auto drivers and vegetable vendors — these are the people who suffered because they depend on their daily income for their meals. With no business, these are the people who suffered,” he said.