Pro-Kannada groups have called a 12-hour statewide shutdown Saturday, March 22, to protest the alleged assault on a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus conductor in Belagavi for not speaking Marathi.
The shutdown from 6 am to 6 pm, called by Kannada Okkoota, an umbrella organisation of various pro-Kannada groups, was announced after the attack on a KSRTC bus conductor by those purportedly affiliated with pro-Marathi groups in Belagavi in February. The conductor was allegedly assaulted for not conversing in Marathi, which has intensified existing linguistic and regional tensions in the area.
What is likely to be affected?
Education institutions: The bandh coincides…