Mysuru Travels Association, maxi cab, petroleum dealers too back off from observing bandh

Mysore/Mysuru: A section of Kannada organisations have given a call for Karnataka bandh on Dec. 5, protesting against the State Government’s decision to constitute Maratha Development Authority. 

Most of the Transport Unions including Autorickshaw and Taxi Unions have decided to support the bandh, while Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association has said they will not be closing their businesses for the day but only extend moral support. 

Recently, former MLA and Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj had called for a bandh condemning the State Government’s decision to form Maratha Development Authority. 

Along with Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association, Mysuru Travels Association, District Tourist Vehicle Drivers’ and Owners’ Welfare Association, Registered Tourist Guides Association, Maxi Cab Owners’ Welfare Association, Mysuru Region Petroleum Dealers’ Association, Devaraj Urs Road Traders’ Association, Merchants’ Association, Mysuru Textile and Garments Merchants’ Association, District Distributors’ Association, Kalyana Mantap Owners’ Association, Mysuru City Corporation Market Tenants’ Association and ‘Federation of Mysuru Industries Associations’ have decided not to close business but extend moral support to the bandh.  

Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association President C. Narayanagowda, in a joint press conference of the Associations held at Pathrakartara Bhavan in city yesterday, said that hotels and restaurants are considered essential services and the hospitality sector has already suffered a big blow owing to COVID-19. Hence, all hotels and restaurants would remain open in the interests of farmers, owners, workers, and customers, he added. 

If hotels and restaurants are closed even for a single day, thousands of people would go hungry and also, the industry that has already suffered due to lockdown will further suffer. “In fact, even now people think twice to come to a hotel with family members and the business has not yet picked up. In such a situation, a bandh will further result in losses,” he said. 

He said that though the Association has wholeheartedly supported the cause of land, language, culture and water in Karnataka, unilateral decisions like bandh will affect the common man the most and along with the common man, industries too suffer. Expressing his displeasure, Narayanagowda said that the bandh call was unilateral and no one was consulted before giving a bandh call.

Organisers of the bandh could have taken various stakeholders including the hotel industry before giving a bandh call. “We were not consulted and moreover, bandh will result in losses to an industry that is already reeling under losses,” he added.

Mysuru Travels Association Honorary President B.S. Prashanth opined that the dawn to dusk bandh will break the back of the travel industry that had literally come to a standstill due to months of lockdown that has resulted in thousands of tour and travel operators and staff losing jobs and regular income. “After lockdown, the travel industry is taking baby steps. A bandh at this time will prove disastrous,” he said. 

The limited numbers of tourists who are coming to Mysuru now arrive in city on Friday and stay here for two days to return on Sunday evening. “As the bandh has been called on a Saturday, these tourists are cancelling their plans. We will lose them in case we support the bandh,” Prashanth added. 

District Tourist Vehicle Drivers’ and Owners’ Welfare Association Nagaraj, Ashok from Registered Tourist Guides Association, Ravi from Maxi Cab Owners’ Welfare Association, Veerabhadrappa from Devaraj Urs Road Traders’ Association, K.R. Sathyanarayana of Kalyana Mantap Owners’ Association and Mahadevu of Mysuru City Corporation Market Tenants’ Association were present at the press conference.