‘We’ll Never Visit M’luru Again- We’ll Also Tell our Friends’ -Goan Visitors

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“Friday’s Bandh cannot be termed as ‘Successful Bandh’ as it was a ‘Forced Bandh’. This Bandh has created a fear psychosis among the residents of the peaceful district. It has resulted in large scale economic loss. Plenty of Vegetables and fish got wasted. Families stayed home fearing of attacks if they went out.Diwali was a festival of ‘Darkness’ instead of festival of ‘lights’ due to this bandh. As per Supreme Court order the organizers have to pay for the loss incurred during the bandh. Our CM has remained numb instead of taking quick action-he should implement the SC order in this regard, and recover all the loss from the groups who called for this bandh and take stern action against the guilty. Sangh Parivar members who are inciting communal clashes need to be stopped”- B Janardhan Poojary, Former Union Minister

I fully support the above statements by Senior Congress leader B Janardhan Poojary. We always tend to evaluate the success by the immediate material gain, and that is not our fault but our minds are shaped in that direction. Was anything accomplished by this bandh, other than economic loss. This ‘ Bandh’ was sheer useless. The first person to suffer due to this ‘ Bandh’ was the daily wage worker, he/she lost one day wages, and some workers were kept hungry for a day. Even travellers who wanted to reach their respective destinations were stranded in railway stations/ bus-stands and other places, and cursing the people behind this bandh. This was democracy as its worst, where people were stranded like anything without normalcy in the district. While the citizens were taken for a ride, I don’t know what our government/other law enforcement authorities are doing allowing parties to issue bandh calls which is disrupting everything.

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Regular bandhs, protests, unrest among people, moral policing etc are making visitors to this educational hub to stop coming to this would-be “Smart City”. With quite a few violence taken place recently, investors are reluctant to start businesses here-and also due to constant moral policing even students who are eager to study in this education hub are seeking college admissions elsewhere. Due to regular bandhs, violence etc etc visitors to this city are facing lot of inconveniences/hassles, and many get frustrated about this and decide not to come back here again. Among the many visitors who were put into hardship due to bandh, here is one couple from Goa, who are regular visitors to DK/Mangaluru., who have made a strong decision not to visit here again, and also want to spread the word among their relatives and friends not to set their foot on the DK soil.

Speaking to mangalorean.com during a conversation at a Madhuvan restaurant (Hotel Moti Mahal), Deepak Salgaonkar and his wife Pramila narrating their horrific story said, ” We love Mangaluru and DK, and that’s the reason we visit here often. But due to all these bandhs, protests, moral policing, violence etc going on here, have many a times made us to think twice whether to plan our trip to this beautiful coastal destination, filled with religious temples and monuments. But after our latest experience faced during the Friday bandh, we have strongly decided not come back here again, and we mean it. We had developed love for this coastal district ever since our daughter was admitted to medical college in Manipal few years ago, where we used to come down quite often to visit her- but unfortunately due to the rape incident in Manipal couple of years ago and also due to moral policing incidents now and then, we had to shift our daughter to Davangere”.

“In spite of that we still continued to make frequent visits to DK since we wanted to explore the naturalistic beauty of this this area, and we both love the authentic Mangalorean cuisine, among which Kori Rotti, Chicken Sukka, Neer Dosa, fish pulli munchi are our favorite. Couple of weeks ago, we had come to Mangaluru with our Goan friends, Albert Mendes and family- and we reached Mangaluru Junction Railway station we found out that the City was observing bandh in protest against Yettinahole project. We were helpless that day without a auto-rickshaw to reach our hotel and later no transport for sight seeing. We wasted whole one day by loitering in the hotel.”

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“Last Friday was once again a horrible day for us- when we reached the railway station we were told DK/Mangaluru was bandh to protest against killing of a young man- once again there was no transportation- we had plans to visit Dharmasthala and Chikmagaluru-the taxi driver wanted to charge us Rs 15,000 for our trip. Since that was ridiculous we cancelled our trip to Dharmasthala and Chikmagalur, and decided to stay in a hotel in Mangaluru-we booked our room at Hotel Moti Mahal-the whole Friday was a waste doing nothing-no where to go. We decided to go back to Goa on Sunday morning -so on Saturday after doing some shopping in the city, we went back to the hotel and later that evening we wanted to go to The Village restaurant in Kavoor for our dinner- but that evening we found out that auto-rickshaws were not plying between 6pm and 6am. Once again our dining out plans were messed up – so we stayed back at the hotel and dined at the restaurant inside the hotel”

” One day Mangaluru bandh-no transportation, and the next day, to go out in the evening no auto-rickshaws. We were fully frustrated and upset, and wanted to get out of this town. It’s sad that such a tourist destination is facing all these problems from some saffron organizations. What did anyone get from observing bandh? Why all the violence in this district? Why can’t the police control moral policing? Look how people are happy in Goa-the government banned Sangh Parivar (Sri Rama Sene) from entering Goa? Why can’t Karnataka government put a restriction on all these groups that incite trouble and communal clashes? Travelers can’t waste their money coming to this district and then get into all these kind of inconveniences/hassles. That’s it -we have finally decided not to make any more trips to DK/Mangaluru” said the couple in a very bad mood.

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Yes, I don’t blame this couple for their decision-enough is enough of all these consequences and nonsense that they had to bear when they came to this town. One day the whole town is dead, the next day there are no auto-rickshaws after 6pm- this will surely put the visitors in hardship to commute. Even though the organizers feel that the bandh was successful, but actually it was a forced bandh. Just because all the shops and other establishments closed during the ‘ Bandh’, doesn’t mean that they supported the bandh, they just didn’t wanted to face any untoward incidents. All this bandh did was- a few party leaders along with their party members cheered on their success, and also got wide publicity in the media, that’s it ! -While on the other hand the lower income community were deprived of their vital livelihood for the day.

We may not have achieved anything tangible as such by these type of bandhs or protest now and then, but can we deny the fact that the bandhs are also a form of showing public resentment against the establishment of the day, be it of any party. Democracy has deep roots in India, that’s for sure. Of course these bandhs create public discomfiture and ultimately the loss incurred have to be borne by the public and the worst part is that the forceful bandhs do cause public damage to property and loss to life which is indeed very reprehensible. But is there a solution, an alternative? The opposition who are also neck deep in corruption along with the ruling party does not even take part in meaningful debates which concerns with common man, it always wants to play to the gallery and selectively raise the issue where it is needed, that is on the floor of the Parliament or state legislatures.

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Come to think of it do you find a single leader in India right now on whose call people selflessly or voluntarily chose to strike on a big scale, forget about the country or state, even a town cannot be closed voluntarily on a call in India right now from an individual or a group who is so morally right and has political support. So naturally the leaders and saffron groups have to resort to forceful bandhs which are no doubt not the solution, but is there a way out to show public anger to govt policies? Not surprisingly bandhs have become the most handy tool in the hands of politicians, Maoists, narrow minded social groups who want to make a flash on the media by adopting the shock factor in the news. They do anything which disrupts normal life. We are morally dead, utterly corrupt and short sighted, don’t rise above the personal interest, how can we see the nation?

Of course we are writing and venting our anger in various forays, but I am reasonably sure that, given a chance, I may too become corrupt when given a chance to enter the system, who knows? What then the common man do? Not many bandhs have achieved positive results in the past-they only further inflation because of loss of productivity in crores and crores.. If bandh was a solution to everything, then there wouldn’t be problems in life. So what’s the outcome of a ‘ bandh’ now and then ? Nothing ! Absolutely nothing ! Sheer wastage of national productivity and inconvenience to common people. It only serve the interest of political parties and their workers. Bandh has lost its vitality and relevance long back after Independence.

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We the educated people should think alternate ways to speak out rather than bandhs, that worries people. We need to stop listening to political leaders. Also political leaders should not force bandhs on citizens-let the people decide whether to support or not support the bandh depending on the issues. There are many other ways to protest against the government or other authorities, but we restore to the easiest and most lunatic way of doing so. If you see other developed countries no where such kind of bandh is carried out. By committing to the most idiotic way of protest, “Bandh” we are not only jeopardizing the normal life but also creating chaos. We should restrain from getting influenced by such moves and use our common sense and exercise the best way out to make government realize its mistake..Period !

What we need to see is have government/systems become people friendly like in other nations. I think ‘Bandhs’ are not the solution to solve issues, instead transparency and reasoning/justification that we should be asking for. We should ask for why the government is taking such decisions and help government with alternate solutions in case the government is unable to look for a appropriate solution. One day ‘Bandh’ will not solve any issues or problems. The bottom line is ‘ Bandhs’ will flame inflation for sure and will increase income disparity-making poor more poorer.

by Alfie D’Souza, Team Mangalorean


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17 Comments

  1. Forget about visitors not coming to Mangaluru. If you talk to college students you will come to understand the difficulties they face when organising any conferences. The first question asked by the guest colleges is that, is it okay for girls and boys to come together. Thats how SMART our mangaluru is in the eyes of other states.

  2. Bravo! A good decision taken by these Goans- if I were in their place, would have taken the same decision. Enough is enough of all this bull@@@@ that’s happening in Mangaluru due to all these Sangh parivar groups.

    Travelers stay away from Mangaluru-let the city authorities feel the brunt of it. Great reporting by Alfie as always-thank you mangalorean.com

  3. Excellent Eye Opener Article by Mr.Alfie. I am agreeing with Goan Couple one hundred percent. I am sure almost every Tourist or Visitor to DK was thinking,what the helpless Goan Couple thought. How many Travelers to Mangalore went Hungry and Scared for Life. This article is a message to and for NRI Parents to think twice or more times before sending them here for studies. Every other week there is Picket,March,Procession,fights,Bundhs and killings. How safe are we in Mangalore anymore.
    Smart City is nothing but another avenue to milk the public. Many of you have seen Cats scratching the tree bark to sharpen their nails until the Bark is all gone, and only Stump will remain. Same way after scratching 1000 Crores only the name “Smart City” will remain and rest will be gone. Almost every scheme of Govt. is robbed in name of something. May be Lokayukta should do back ground check of people involved in this scheme.
    Very Informative Article for Common Person.

  4. Instead of BIG talk on Smart City the city officials need to address the problems regarding moral police, violence, unrest etc that’s haunting the citizens of Mangaluru and those coming fro outside.

    There are rumours that many business owners are taking their enterprises to some other towns rather than establishing here in Mangaluru-thanks to all these unwanted bundhs, moral policing etc–thanks mangalorean.com for highlighting this topic

  5. Instead of BIG talk on Smart City the city officials need to address the problems regarding moral police, violence, unrest etc that’s haunting the citizens of Mangaluru and those coming from outside.

  6. Sounds like an overreaction!! I hope this individual doesn’t start returning his college degree, high school awards and other stuff!! LOL Goa is not some paradise – I’ve been there many times. Since the tourism is the only source of revenue they have, they try everything possible to keep the show going!

    As far as Bandh goes, I’ve made my views very clear. It should be made illegal and whoever calls for bandh should face the consequence along with heavy penalty. Nobody has the right to disrupt the life of other individuals. However, our legal system allows Bandhs and political outfits take full advantage of the weakness.

    • I hope this individual doesn’t start returning his college degree, high school awards and other stuff!! – Joker Rampa’ji

      I have a very strong feeling that – if at all you were to have passed your Primary School and were to even get a consolation prize in some Taluk Level ‘Frog Race’ or ‘Lemon & Spoon’ race, you would have returned ALL that stuff during the UPA rule.

      But then, sadly….. sigh……. 🙁 🙁 🙁

  7. I have faced this problem in Mumbai inMonsoon season. I had to walk to the hotel with my bag. The hoteal arranged transportation next day by which time the strike was called off. Mumbai has the menace called Shiva Sena.

  8. Namaskara,

    Btw, who is the leader of Auto Union in Mangalore?
    Is it not MLC Ivan from Mangalore?

  9. Thanks Alfie for highlighting this issue- I fully agree with the Goan couple and their decision not to visit this town any more. If the concerned authorities and law-enforcement are not bothered about the citizens, why even bother to come down to this city and spend money here.

    I hope this article would be an eye-opener for our City’s netas. Forget about “Smart City” which is nothing but to fill someone’s “greedy” pockets-other than that God only knows the fate of “Smart City”

    • Foreigners feel the same, not only for Mangaluru, for other any cities in India more.
      As a result, most foreigners who want to visit India would become backpackers, who prefer cheap trip, not spend much money, do love chaos situations.
      It is not beneficial for India.
      This kind of information is very important feedback for each places…

  10. Dear readers,

    It is good coverage by the author.

    Once a peaceful,friendly known for hospitality and destiny for every youth for education became a hotbed for fanaticism.
    Today’s plight of Mangalore, all credit goes to RSS crony sister organisations and BJP’s elected members.To some extent mass media is directly responsible which ‘Sangh parivar’ use as platform under the banner of ‘Press club of Mangalore’.

    The saffronisation of police department during BJP’s regime under Late Home minister Dr.Acharya and Mr.Ashok will be held accountable,which was bursted by the sting operation of ‘Cobrapost’.

    From the two decades Mangalore is under the ruling of BJP.The city must have long achieved ‘Acche Din’ but sadly left trail of bad memories and in highlight for wrong reason all around the world.

    Jai Hind

  11. Last Friday’s bandh was simply a waste of time and money, just like other bandhs that take place every now and then across India. The employees and students of DK and mangaluru waited because of the undisputed holiday that they would get. The shopkeeper’s waited because of the surge in sales before and after the strike that they would get. Media waited (with baited breath) to create a highly hyped event out of this. Other than that this bandh was sheer waste of time and money-resulting also in loss of revenue.

  12. DK/Mangaluru bandh turned out to be a waste of a day for the common hard-working man-well said by the author. We need to ban all these organizations that are inciting hate and communal clashes.

  13. I feel more bunds should be there so that the vehicle traffic is less in city and people can walk freely. Too much pollution , too much noise and too much drinking and partying is spoiling the city. Wish people get more holidays to enjoy at home with family and not at Malls. Bunds will reduce communal clashes and murders. I really enjoy envying my forefathers who used to walk around the place , no traffic. Talk to people and work hard,enjoy festivals ,have a good siesta ,less tensions and less diseases and die a peaceful death. Hope we also get it. Thanks to the people who call the bunds and give relief for a day

  14. Very nice topic on “Bundhs” in India, well expressed and well shared. These are part and portion of life prevailing in many parts of the world. “Bundh” to our knowledge are still preferable compared to many other unrests and disturbances. Let the time speak by itself without our making a firm decision on not visiting Mangalore. Our empathy is very important on matters such as people expressing their grievances thru “Bundh. Let peace prevail within each of us while there is turmoil around us. Boycotting Mangalore or Goa is not the issue while there are more important things to focus. God bless

  15. If Aamir does this statement it becomes big issue. Because it is easy to attack them, If these people make such statement what shall we call?

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