Ahead of the judgement at the Lucknow High Court, regarding disputed property in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), steps have been taken here in Bengaluru to keep a check on the law and order situation. While the state government has declared that schools and colleges will not function for two days, September 30th and October 1st, many private companies have chosen either declare a holiday or work half-day.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped on the city, with effect from 6 am today till 6 am on October 3rd. This means public functions cannot be held and groups of five or more people cannot assemble in public places. The sale of liquor has also been banned while these orders are in force.
Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari says 1500 Home Guards have been deployed, along with personnel from the Karnataka State Reserve Police and Central Reserve Police Force. “Every hour, the situation is being reviewed”, says Bidari.
The commissioner also appeals to the public to maintain peace and normalcy.
All government offices are functioning today and tomorrow.
BBMP
All BBMP offices are functioning today and tomorrow and will not be affected by the verdict, says Dr S S Khandre, Public Relations Officer. The BBMP Control Room will also function uninterrupted, 24/7. The control room phone numbers are available here.
BMTC
At the moment, all BMTC buses are plying as usual. BMTC’s Public Relations Officer G G Hegde says buses are in fact running almost empty today. Depending on the law order situation, BMTC will decide on whether to withdraw their services. “If there is stone throwing and any case of lives being endangered, then it is better we withdraw. We’ll decide later”, he says. The BMTC Control Room is also functioning 24/7 today and will not be affected by the judgement.
Bangalore One
All Bangalore One centres (including the mini centres) will function only till 2 pm as per orders communicated to them. No information is available on whether these centres will be open tomorrow.
South -western Railways
All trains are running as per schedule.
BIAL
All flights are running as per schedule. No changes have been made to flight arrivals and departures. Depending on how sensitive the situation is later today, BIAL will decide on flight schedules. But no such disruptions as of now.
Autos
Autos will also ply in the city normally. Srinivas Murthy, President, Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union (affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions), says drivers are hoping that the city is not affected by the judgement. “We are a public service. We will try to maintain that”, Murthy says.
Taxis
Taxi services are available presently. But uncertainty remains over whether they’ll ply on the roads later in the day. Spot City Taxi services says they will take their cabs off the roads if violence is reported in the city. Other taxi services remain non-committal about the situation once the verdict is pronounced.
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