K’taka: Massive protest in Mangaluru against Waqt Act; over 2,000 cops deployed

Mangaluru: The protest organised on Friday against the Waqf (Amendment) Act witnessed a massive turnout here in this coastal Karnataka city.

The Karnataka Police Department made elaborate security arrangements in the communally sensitive city of Mangaluru to maintain law and order. The protest meeting was held at Shah Garden in the Adyar region of the city.

The protest was organised by the Karnataka Ulema Associations.

Traffic restrictions were imposed in the surrounding areas until 9 p.m. More than 2,000 police personnel were deployed at the site.

Five Superintendents of Police (SPs) and 230 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DySPs) are monitoring the situation on the ground.

Organisers claimed they were expecting nearly one lakh people to participate in the protest. People arrived in large numbers from neighbouring districts, including Karwar, Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, and other parts of Mangaluru. An appeal was made during Friday prayers from mosques, urging people to attend the protest without fail.

Protesters participated in the event holding Indian flags and raising slogans such as, “Yeh Waqf hamari hai, yeh haq hamari hai, yeh jaan se pyaari hai” (The Waqf is ours. This is our right and it is dearer than life).

The Shah Garden grounds were filled with people, and the crowd spilled over onto National Highway 73, which connects Mangaluru and Bengaluru.

Although police had installed metal detectors at the entrances to the Shah Grounds and were facilitating entry through them, they had to remove the detectors and allow unrestricted entry due to the overwhelming crowd.

A large number of protesters from all age groups, including children, the elderly, and youth, participated in the protest.

Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka slammed the state government on Friday for allowing the protest. Ashoka dubbed the protest as the Chief Minister Siddramaiah sponsored event.

IANS