Pro-Kannada organisations withdraw tomorrow's Karnataka bandh
Bengaluru, Dec 30: Mindful about its impact amid divide within and lack of support, pro-Kannada organisations on Thursday withdrew the Karnataka bandh, called by them on December 31, demanding a complete ban on the activities of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) which has been campaigning for long to merge Marathi speaking regions in Belagavi with Maharashtra.
Leaders of several Kannada outfits under the leadership of Vatal Nagaraj, the leader of the Kannada Okkuta, met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai this evening, ahead of withdrawing the bandh.
The organisations will however be staging a protest rally demanding MES ban at the city's town hall at 10:30 AM on Friday. A similar protest was held by the Karnataka Rakshna Vedike today.
"Heeding the request of the Chief Minister and several of our pro-Kannada leaders, I have conceded. There will be no bandh tomorrow, we have withdrawn the bandh, but we may hold some protests," Nagaraj told reporters after meeting with the CM.
"The CM has assured that his government will do everything possible honestly in accordance with law to ban MES and requested us to withdraw the bandh. Also earlier in the day leaders of several organisations put pressure on me to postpone the bandh citing the inconvenience it may cause to the people and business ahead of New Year," he said.
Chief Minister Bommai said he has discussed all issues with Nagaraj and others and every one is on one page to protect the interest of Kannada, Kannadigas and Karnataka, and thanked the organisations for withdrawing the bandh call.
To a question on their demand for banning MES, he said, "all those things have been discussed, I have already stated publicly that the government is examining it legally. I have brought the same to their notice."
However, another prominent leader of Kannada Okkuta, Sa Ra Govindu clarified that only tomorrow's bandh has been called off, and that they will call for a meeting and decide further action, in case their demand for banning MES is not met in the days to come.
"We have not set any deadline to the CM, he has sought time to talk to experts, so we have postponed the bandh to another day, we will decide our future course, by calling a meeting of all Kannada organisations," he added.
Another leader hinted that they may wait and call for bandh on January 22, if their demands are not met by then.
Pro-Kannada organisations had last week called for a day-long state wide bandh on December 31, demanding a complete ban on the activities of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi in the state over its repeated involvement in "anti-Karnataka and anti-Kannada activities".
The demand follows the recent incidents of burning of the Kannada flag in Maharashtra's Kolhapur and defacement of the statue of historical icon Sangolli Rayanna in Belagavi, allegedly by MES activists.
The MES, a Marathi outfit, has been campaigning for long to merge Marathi speaking regions in Belagavi with Maharashtra.
However, several organisations like the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV), Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association, Auto, schools and college associations, shopping malls association and several other commercial establishments had offered only moral support and said they will not participate in the bandh and will function as usual.
Business establishments had cited New Year brisk business for not physically supporting the bandh call.
At the last moment today, even those who were supporting Nagaraj in his call for bandh, like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Praveen Shetty faction among others, made a u-turn and requested him to call off the bandh.
ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @BSBommai ಅವರು ವಿವಿಧ ಕನ್ನಡಪರ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗಳ ಮುಖಂಡರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇಂದು ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಸಿ, ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 31ರಂದು ಕರೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ಬಂದ್ ಹಿಂಪಡೆಯುವಂತೆ ಮನವೊಲಿಸಿದರು.
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) December 30, 2021
ಮಾಜಿ ಶಾಸಕ ವಾಟಾಳ್ ನಾಗರಾಜ್, ಪ್ರವೀಣ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ, ಸಾ.ರಾ. ಗೋವಿಂದ್ ಮತ್ತಿತರರು ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು. pic.twitter.com/yQmjnHsdkl
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
