Pramesh S Jain & Yogesh K Porwar
I
n a shocking incident a elderly age farmer who came to watch movie with his son was denied entry to GT World Mall located at Magadi Road near Prasanna theatre.
As the news was spread in various social media platforms a row was triggered and on the next day morning Farmer leader Shanthkumar condemned the incident and demanded apology from the management.
Protest was erupted by Pro-Kannada Organisation members with Farmer leaders too were part of the protest and later was taking into preventive custody.
The state ministers are angry with the behavior of the staff of GT World Mall on Magadi Road, Bengaluru,who insulted Haveri farmers by not allowing them to enter the mall because they were wearing pancha. He has given instructions to issue a police notice in this regard.
Senior officer told reporters,Fakeerappa,a septuagenarian farmer,dressed in his usual attire of a dhoti and a white shirt, who had gone to a mall with his son to watch a movie at a multiplex theatre,was denied entry over his dress in the city.
The incident occurred at G.T. Mall, Magadi Main Road on Tuesday evening around 6pm.Farmer unions have now threatened to protest against the mall, if the mall management did not apologise.
The incident comes months after a farmer wearing a dhoti was similarly stopped by security guards from boarding Namma Metro despite having a valid ticket in February earlier this year.
BMRCL dismissed the security supervisor who stopped the farmer.
On Tuesday, the senior citizen’s son Nagaraj recorded the conversation with the private security supervisor at the mall’s entrance who denied them entry.
The security supervisor is seen saying the rules of the mall did not allow people in a dhoti and he would allow the senior citizen if he wore pants.
Speaking to media persons later,Mr.Nagaraj said that as a son he wished to show his father a film in a multiplex and asked if he could make him wear a pant for the same.
“How can we people from the village let go of our dhoti and come dressed in pants to see a film?,” Mr. Fakeerappa asked.
Mr. Fakeerappa, speaking to a media person on Wednesday, said that he was an illiterate man and a farmer, who knew the value of education.
“I have got all five of my children educated and they are well placed now.But I cannot give up my culture, dressing style and start wearing pants at this stage, just to go to a mall.
It is sad that people feel inferior about our own dressing style and culture in our own state,” he said.
We will bring rules from the government: Chaluvaraya Swamy
Agriculture Minister Cheluvarayaswamy has condemned the GT Mall action of denying entry to farmers and said that the government will try to frame appropriate rules in this matter. We condemn this.
A few years ago,if the panche was tied,it would not be allowed in the clubs.Our government had decided that you can go to the club wearing boxers without shoes.We had discussed this in the session that day. He said that even now the government should bring rules for this.
Discuss with the CM about bringing rules from the government.We ask that appropriate order be issued.Farmers should not be insulted.
Appropriate notice will be given to malls.Club,International Festival has a slight dress code.It would be wrong to say that you can wear pants in malls.
This was also the case in Metro earlier.Farmers should not be insulted like this,no one should be insulted.The government has issued an instruction that the mall staff should behave respectfully with the public and farmers.Chaluvaraya Swamy said, “We should ask Panche Andre why he has such a contemptuous attitude.”
Members of farmers’ organizations and Kannada organizations staged a panche uttu protest in front of the GT World Mall, which insulted farmers from Haveri for wearing dhoti. The mall owner apologized in front of the public who fought to give justice to the farmers.
The Karnataka state human rights commission has come forward to issue a notice asking for clarification about the behavior of the mall management.
The activists of the Kannada organization protesting the incident gathered in front of the mall in the morning in a farmer’s getup. Rupesh Rajanna and team of the Kannada organization dressed in panche and gathered in front of the mall and started protesting.
Police security has been provided to prevent any untoward incident in the mall due to the protest today.
Labor Minister Santosh Lad is concerned about this and Siddaramaiah has been ruling the state as CM for seven years wearing a panche.
He criticized that he should learn a lesson from this. Those who run that mall must have less intelligence. He said that we will write a letter about this from our department or the police department
