Mangaluru, Mar 1: Sunday heralded a saffron-coloured vigour on the streets of Mangaluru as intense preparations overnight had laid a cover of saffron buntings and banners across major junctions and streets leading to the venue of the Hindu Samajotsav.
Most of the shops remained closed owing to the weekly holiday, and the streets wore a deserted look as most people stayed inside their houses during the day owing to the traffic diversions and numerous road blocks put in place as part of security arrangements for the massive event organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad as part of its golden jubilee celebrations.
As the day wore on, an atmosphere of slight trepidation prevailed in the city owing to high visibility of security forces appointed at every entrance and corner of Mangaluru even as hordes of saffron-clad people began arriving in the city shouting slogans alerting citizens of the exclusive religious event scheduled for the day.
Heeding instructions to close down for the day, hotels, restaurants and small eateries also began closing down after noon fearing the possibility of provocative incidents or disorder following the Samajotsav
Apart from people from the Hindu community that began arriving in droves during the latter half of the day to participate in the Samajotsav, the streets remained mostly empty since not many citizens were willing to venture out in apprehension of being stranded due to lack of public transport or being caught in the middle of a communal outlash.
The main roads in the heart of the city leading to Hampankatta circle remained closed to commuters and public transport as a grand procession was flagged off from the Ambedkar Circle (Jyothi) towards the venue of the Samajotsav. This caused sudden inconvenience to several people travelling by buses and auto rickshaws who were caught unaware of the traffic diversions. Most had to make their way towards Hampankatta and nearby areas by walking in the afternoon heat, while finding most shops closed at times of necessity.
Those who did venture out found themselves stranded at bus stops waiting for buses unaware that a majority of buses had been held back for the sake of transporting people attending the Samajothsav.
As the day progressed, few people slowly began milling out on the roads as the apprehension of possible disruption of peace grew lesser. With roads being opened up as the Samajothsav concluded and public transport plying normally after 6 p.m., people were seen on the streets again returning to their respective homes after attending the Samajothsav.
Nevertheless, several were inconvenienced by the fact that none of the shops or eateries remained open and they were unable to sate their thirst or hunger pangs. After the conclusion of the event at Nehru Maidan, service and city buses were packed with people from outside the city making their way home.
Few shops that ventured to open after 6 p.m. near Srinivas Institute in Pandeshwar and at State Bank were forcibly closed shut by the police fearing any provocative or untoward incidents. All facilities barring ATM centres, such as bakeries, recharge stores, grocery stores and other establishments remained firmly shut on Sunday, affecting normal life in the city where the atmosphere was largely and outwardly calm for the most of the day.
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