Mysuru/Mysore: The 12-hour Karnataka bandh called by several pro-Kannada organisations, under the banner of Karnataka Sanghatanegala Okkoota, turned out to be a damp squib this morning as buses and autos plied as usual in city.

The organisations are demanding the implementation of a 1984 report by former Union Minister Sarojini Mahishi that recommends a certain percentage of jobs to Kannadigas in public sector undertakings, private companies, and multinational companies. 

There has been no effect of the bandh as autorickshaws, KSRTC buses, trains, cabs and all commercial establishments, including malls, remained open. Even schools and colleges, banks, shops, hotels and theatres functioned normally. 

Pro-Kannada activists led by Littérateur C.P. Krishnakumar, under the banner of Mysuru Zilla Kannada Horatagarara Sangha, staged a protest by displaying empty coconut shells at Gandhi Square, demanding the implementation of Mahishi Report.

In another protest near the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) Office under the banner of Mysuru Horatagarara Samithi, members of Mysuru Rakshana Vedike, Samyuktha Karnataka Auto Drivers Association, Hrudayavantha Kannada Sangha, Namma Chalakara Trade Union, Karnataka Sarvodaya Sangha and Uttara Karnataka Samskruthika Sangha took part.

Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda, pro-Kannada leaders B.A. Shivashankar, H.K. Basavaraju, S. Gururaj, Doora Suresh, S. Gurushankar and others protested.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa met pro-Kannada activists in Bengaluru. 

During the meeting, the activists submitted a memorandum to him. “Government always stood for Kannada and Kannadigas and initiated measures to implement the Sarojini Mahishi report,” Yediyurappa said.