Bharat Bandh evokes good response in district
Agitators prepare pakoda on road and distribute them
Chikmagaluru, September 10: Bharat bandh called by the Congress and other opposition parties across the country condemning the price hike of petroleum products and essential commodities on Monday evoked good response in the district. The bandh was total and peaceful.
Shops and business establishments downed their shutters since morning. KSRTC buses were stayed off the roads. In some places, the agitators convinced the shop-keepers to close the doors of their shops. Petrol bunks and cinema theaters voluntarily supported the bandh and closed their business.
Bandh received good response even in the city. All business establishments, hotels, shops, petrol bunks were closed. Though post office and other offices were opened in the morning, they downed their shutters after the agitators sought their cooperation for the bandh and convinced them. As the deputy commissioner declared holiday for schools and colleges on Sunday, the students did not turn up towards the schools and colleges on Monday. The agitators who passed on in all roads were seen closing the shops and business establishments which were functioning in the morning.
Few autos were seen on the roads. When some lorries and maxi-cabs were seen moving on the roads, agitators appealed them stay off the roads as there is Bharat Bandh. At Hanumanthappa Circle, the agitators released the air of an auto and cab tyres and stopped them at the circle.
Prepared pakoda
In view of the Bharat Bandh, the agitators cooked pakoda at Hanumanthappa circle during bandh and protested the fuel price hike differently. The agitators prepared hearth with the help of bricks on the road, put frying pan on it and cooked pakoda and prepared tea and coffee and distributed them to the general public and police. They distributed pakoda and tea shouting as Modi pakoda and Modi tea. Former MLC A.V Gayathri Shante Gowda, CPI leader Radha Sundaresh, BSP leader K.T Radhakrishna and others prepared the pakoda and tea.
As there was no traffic movement in the roads, Kannada Rakshana Vedike and CPI workers played cricket at Hanumanthappa circle for some time. The bandh was total in Tarikere, Kaduru, Mudigere, Sringeri and Koppa taluks of the district. When the Congress workers forced the shop owners to shut the shops at Balehonnur, shop owner and the party workers engaged in verbal duals and the agitators attacked the shop owner. Apart from this untoward incident, the bandh was almost peaceful in the district.
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Rupee rises 10 paise to 92.41/USD; faces risks from rising global tensions
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated 10 paise to 92.41 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday, even as the USD/INR pair faces risks from rising global tensions, especially the US-Iran conflict.
Forex traders said the rupee is likely to see high volatility intra-day as the deadline for RBI's instructions to banks to curb their overnight positions to USD 100 million closes today.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.58 against the US dollar, then gained ground to touch 92.41 against the US dollar in initial trade, registering a gain of 10 paise over its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled with a marginal gain of 3 paise at 92.51 against the US dollar.
"An estimated 80–85 per cent of these positions have already been unwound, which means the bulk of this supportive flow is now behind us. In simple terms, the cushion that held the rupee steady is beginning to thin, and this is where the story starts to shift," CR Forex Advisors MD Amit Pabari said.
Pabari further noted that looking ahead, the picture for the rupee appears to be changing. "With most of the NOP-related support now fading and global uncertainties still elevated, the scope for further strength seems limited. USDINR is likely to find a base in the 92.20–92.50 zone, with a gradual move higher towards 93.50–94.00 levels," he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was higher by 0.07 per cent at 98.69 as the safe-haven demand has come down after the ceasefire, but as the ceasefire is fragile, the US dollar is getting bids at lower levels.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.51 per cent at USD 96.44 per barrel in futures trade, as the ongoing uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz opening is keeping the oil trade well bid.
Pabari further noted that just as domestic support begins to fade, the global backdrop is turning uneasy again. "The World Bank has flagged that India's growth for FY27, expected at 6.6 per cent, faces risks from rising global tensions, especially the Iran conflict," he said.
According to Pabari, India continues to have strong buffers in the form of forex reserves and a stable banking system, but pressure points are slowly beginning to build.
On the domestic equity market front, the stock markets witnessed a rebound in early trade. The 30-share Sensex jumped 630.08 points to 77,261.73, while the Nifty climbed 203.6 points to 23,978.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,711.19 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
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