Protest by transport corporation staff, ryots enters 3rd day

Bengaluru: Hundreds of employees of transport corporations, trade unionists as well as a few farmer unions took out protest rallies here for the third consecutive day on Thursday pressing for demands.

The strike affected normalcy in the city, police sources said.

The transport workers have been demanding government employee status while the farmers have been seeking repeal of the farm laws introduced by the Central government.

The agitating employees belong to the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation.

The farmers have been seeking revoking of the two amendments -- one pertaining to the Karnataka land reforms lifting restrictions on purchase of land and the other relating to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees allowing traders to directly approach the farmers to purchase the crop. There was heavy deployment of policemen in and around Vidhana Soudha as the winter session was in progress.

Police placed barricades to prevent the protestors from laying siege to the Vidhana Soudha.