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.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs in their IPL match here on Sunday.

Sent in to bat, Tilak Varma hit a 33-ball 59 to power Mumbai Indians to 205 for five.

Ryan Rickelton (41 off 25 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (40 off 28 balls) and Naman Dhir (38 off 17 balls) also made useful contributions.

In reply, DC were all out for 193 in 19 overs, despite Karun Nair's 40-ball 89.

Karn Sharma (3/36) claimed three wickets, while Mitchell Santner (2/43) took two wickets.

For DC, Vipraj Nigam (2/41) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/23) snapped two wickets each, while Mukesh Kumar (1/38) took one.

Brief Scores:

Mumbai Indians: 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 59; Kuldeep Yadav 2/23, Vipraj Nigam 2/41).

Delhi Capitals: 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89; Karn Sharma 3/36).