Bharat Bandh hits normal life in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Sep 10: The day-long nationwide shutdown or Bharat bandh on Monday against rising fuel prices called by the Congress affected normal life in Karnataka as public transport kept off the roads across the state.
"There is an overwhelming response from the public to our shutdown call as petrol and diesel price hike affects all, especially the poor," a Congress spokesman told IANS here.
Schools and colleges were closed although state and central government offices remained open.
In Bengaluru, global software firms like Infosys and Wipro functioned normally.
With the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) supporting its ally Congress on the bandh, their cadres as well as activists of the pro-Kannada organisations like Kannada Vedica Paksha (KVP) were seen forcing restaurants, shops and fuel stations to remain shut at least till 3 p.m.
Many theatres, multiplexes and malls did not open for business. Bank transactions were hit.
"We have not opened for business for the day to avoid damage to our property caused by frenzied mobs," a tea vendor told IANS here.
The shutdown, however, did not affect flight or train services in Bengaluru and Mysuru though passengers faced harrowing time at the airport and railway stations in the absence of buses, cabs and autos.
About 1,000 cadres and supporters of the JD-S and Congress staged a massive demonstration at the Town Hall here and took out a protest rally to the Freedom Park through main roads, which had less vehicular traffic on a working day due to the shutdown.
Emergency services, including hospitals and medical shops, were exempted from the bandh.
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Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
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Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
