Nitte College Students from M’luru Stranded due to Udupi Bandh
Mangaluru: In light of the Udupi district bandh call on Monday, 13 February by the Toll Virodhi Horata Samiti opposing toll collection at the plazas at Hejmady and Sasthan, the district administration has clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in Udupi taluk, Udupi city municipality and a two-kilometre radius of NH 66, from Thekkatte to Shiroor, from Sunday midnight to Monday midnight.
A notification by T. Venkatesh, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate, said that the imposition of prohibitory orders was necessary to maintain law and order and protect public property. As per N. Vishuvardhana, Additional Deputy Commissioner over 450 police personnel and home guards will be pressed into service. Forceful stoppage of buses, shutting down of business establishments or blocking of National Highway will not be tolerated and stern legal action would be taken against those indulging in such acts,” ADP had said.
But since no holiday was declared until this (Monday) morning, students of NMAM Institute of Technology Nitte – Karkala Taluk, not knowing that the buses going towards Padubidri-Udupi side were off the road, were stranded near Jyothi (Ambedkar Circle) bus stop and other bus stops in the City. Many students were happy, and some were not happy- those happy were the students who could go home and take an extra nap or head on to the mall or watch a movie on the silver screen- other few students not happy, were those ones worried about missing important theory and practicals for the day.
Even though, K. Suresh Nayak, Secretary of Canara Bus Operators Association, had said that the association did not back the bandh and will run private inter-district buses and private city bus service in Udupi, but unfortunately for students traveling from Mangaluru to Nitte, there were no buses operating on the NH 66 route. If the students really wanted to attend classes today, they will have to catch the buses going towards Moodabidri side, and then have to hop on to another bus to reach their college- which many didn’t wanted to opt. Instead they wanted to take a easy class day off?
As per Deviprasad Shetty, leader of the samiti, who had said that the bandh will be in force from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the district on 13 February. Emergency services including ambulances, milk and medicine were exempt from the bandh.