The opposition sponsored bandh may have made a strong political point, but it has left businesses reeling under a loss of more than Rs. 10, 000 crore. The nationwide bandh left Bangalore city crippled, with businesses reeling under a loss of more than Rs. 10, 000 crore. Though 35 platoons of policemen were guarding the city to keep anti-social elements at bay, around 68 buses were damaged, resulting in a loss of Rs 5 lakh. Airport taxi service officials said only 20 percent of the taxis were plying from BIA to the City centre and back on Monday. Arriving passengers were seen waiting in queues that were as long as half a km at the taxi lounge.
IT companies were directly hit, as the BJP-run Karnataka government gave overt support to the bandh. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has pegged the loss to the corporate sector at Rs13, 000 crore, while the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) puts it at a more conservative Rs3,000 crore.
“Around 55% of Karnataka’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) is contributed by services and manufacturing. Across the state, industries were shut. It’s difficult to quantify the loss, but it is quite significant. As we are on the road to recovery, meeting daily production targets is important. IT, ITeS and textiles were badly hit. But the silver lining it that companies have not reported any law and order problem,” said Sajan Poovayya, Chairman, Karnataka State Council of FICCI
Shreesh Babu, secretary, Bangalore Traders’ Association also reported that 40 shops on MG Road incurred loss of Rs 50 lakh. Traders in Chickpet incurred loss of Rs 40 to Rs 50 crore. And KSRTC earns revenue of Rs 5 crore every day; since most of the buses were taken off the roads early they’ve incurred huge losses. Ajay Motwani, vice-president, Commercial Street Shopkeepers’ Association said 250 shopkeepers on Commercial Street suffered Rs 10-crore losses.
However Bangaloreans seemed to have enjoyed the extended vacation, according to a poll conducted by social network SMS GupShup. The poll was conducted across all regions and nearly 60.53% agreed that bandh was a good idea.
In spite of the protests from BJP government and Opposition parties, Pranab Mukherjee told reporters that there was no question of fuel price hike rollback. The Left parties have also threatened to intensify their protests against the fuel price hike inside and outside parliament if the government did not roll back the hike in fuel prices.
