The opposition sponsored bandh may have made a strong political point, but it has left businesses reeling under a huge loss. IT companies were directly hit, as the BJP-run Karnataka government gave overt support to the bandh. 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.
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. Ajay Motwani, vice-president, Commercial Street Shopkeepers’ Association said 250 shopkeepers on Commercial Street suffered Rs 10-crore losses.
The nationwide bandh left Bangalore city crippled, with businesses reeling under a loss of more than Rs. 10,000 crore. 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.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.
It was a day of suffering and untold miseries. The worst was the situation when the agitators attacked a shoe showroom and started throwing shoes on the streets from the showcase.This was not a lone incident since many parts of the city witnessed rowdism and vandalism on a large scale. Though differing in their objective and purpose, both the opposition and the government sought to justify their action.
However, the circumstances created in the wake of the bandh put the `aam aadmi' (common man) in a no-win situation. Thousands of hapless citizens were caught napping by the action-packed scene on the streets.
Ironically, the worst sufferers of this whole affair were daily-wage earners, who are at the rock-bottom of the social strata and worst sufferers of the price pinch. Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka were among those states which were badly affected by the bandh.
“We took a decision to shut down our operation because the government withdrew public transport. The government, by its action, created a sense of fear and threat of violence in the streets. It’s a big shame that the city had to be close down… We (Infosys) stand to lose close to Rs 50 crore," said TV Mohandas Pai, HR head, Infosys Technologies. The same amount was quoted by Girish Paranjpe, joint CEO (IT business) and executive director on the board of Wipro Ltd, who also added that the company will recover it by working on an alternate day.
Sources:
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. Ajay Motwani, vice-president, Commercial Street Shopkeepers’ Association said 250 shopkeepers on Commercial Street suffered Rs 10-crore losses.
The nationwide bandh left Bangalore city crippled, with businesses reeling under a loss of more than Rs. 10,000 crore. 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.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.
It was a day of suffering and untold miseries. The worst was the situation when the agitators attacked a shoe showroom and started throwing shoes on the streets from the showcase.This was not a lone incident since many parts of the city witnessed rowdism and vandalism on a large scale. Though differing in their objective and purpose, both the opposition and the government sought to justify their action.
However, the circumstances created in the wake of the bandh put the `aam aadmi' (common man) in a no-win situation. Thousands of hapless citizens were caught napping by the action-packed scene on the streets.
Ironically, the worst sufferers of this whole affair were daily-wage earners, who are at the rock-bottom of the social strata and worst sufferers of the price pinch. Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka were among those states which were badly affected by the bandh.
“We took a decision to shut down our operation because the government withdrew public transport. The government, by its action, created a sense of fear and threat of violence in the streets. It’s a big shame that the city had to be close down… We (Infosys) stand to lose close to Rs 50 crore," said TV Mohandas Pai, HR head, Infosys Technologies. The same amount was quoted by Girish Paranjpe, joint CEO (IT business) and executive director on the board of Wipro Ltd, who also added that the company will recover it by working on an alternate day.
Sources:
