'Bangalore Bandh' called off after private unions meet Karnataka transport minister Ramalinga Reddy 

The ‘Bangalore Bandh’ has been called off by the federation of private transport association after Karnataka government assured to fulfill their promises. Transport minister R Ramalinga Reddy assured the private transport unions of trying to meet most of their demands after which they called of the strike. Of the total 30 demands, the minister has agreed to 27 demands. The IT capital of India did not see autorickshaws, cabs and private buses plying on road on a working Monday morning due to the bandh. A report by The Hindu said, as per estimates around 7 lakh transport vehicles operated by private persons and companies, that are part of 32 unions, stayed off the roads across Karnataka on Monday. Earlier today, Ramalinga Reddy went to meet the protestors at Freedom Park in Bengaluru. Commuters, especially office and school goers, faced hassle on morning of 11 September due to non-availability of transport options. According to a report by ToI, protesters attacked commuters, smashed glasses of cabs, autos and flattened their tyres. The report also said that a rider with a Rapido bike taxi, heading to his office and the captain were attacked and manhandled in Hebbal. Glasses of two cabs were smashed near Kempegowda International Airport, while eggs were smashed on auto, taxi drivers in several places. Bangalore Bandh: What were the demands of protesters? A report by Hindustan Times said there were a total of 30 demands presented to the transport department by the unions on their previous meeting. One of the major demands was to extend the government’s Shakti scheme to the private players in the state as they are severely hit by the free transport scheme to women. Earlier, the government had clarified that it is practically not possible to extend the Shakti scheme to private buses. A demand that was made by auto unions was to ban bike taxis in Karnataka, asserting that it was affecting their livelihood. To this, the government said it must seek a legal opinion. The unions also demanded for Welfare board for drivers, insurance for auto drivers and lifetime tax on commercial goods vehicles. Transport unions had held discussions with the state transport minister on July 24, just three days before they initially scheduled a protest for July 27. With inputs from agencies