Normal life in Kolar Gold Fields and Robertsonpet was hit by a bandh against using abandoned gold mines to dump nuclear waste from Koodankulum nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu.
Demonstrations were held in other parts of the district too.
On Thursday when the news broke out on nuclear waste being dumped in the abandoned mines, the elected representatives of Kolar district decided to hold a district bandh.
Later, Congress legislators withdrew their support to the bandh to avoid embarrassment to the Congress-led government at the Centre. However, the bandh was total in KGF city and Robertsonpet town. KGF’s legislator Y Sampangi was on the streets from 5 am directing protesters to enforce the shutdown.
The citizens’ committee of KGF, Kannada Sena, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Janata Dal, BJP, Republican Party of India, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagam (AIADMK) and several citizens’ pressure groups from all over the district converged at KGF and Robertsonpet to hold protests.
Ram Nivas Sepat, superintendent of police, Kolar district, said apart from burning of tyres and effigies, nothing untoward happened anywhere in the district.
But things are not going to be smooth on Saturday as protesters are planning to stop Kolar-Bangalore Swarna Express.
A few anti-nuclear activists from Kaiga in Uttara Kannada and Kudankulam will arrive in KGF on Saturday and Sunday.
