Bangalore: Amidst tight security, the 12-hour bandh called by Vishwa Hindu Parishath (VHP) to protest the massacre at the Swaminarayan temple in Gandhinagar began in Karnataka on September 26, evoking a mixed response.

In Bangalore, shops and commercial establishments downed shutters in most areas, including in the heart of the city, but city transport buses and private vehicles were plying.

Most schools and colleges declared a holiday on September 26. No untoward incident has been reported so far, police said.

According to initial reports, the bandh has evoked a mixed response in the state.

The police have put a tight security arrangement in place, mobilising its force on a massive scale and deploying 120 platoons of Karnataka state reserve police, two companies of rapid action force, besides 10,000 home guards and an equal number of men from the district armed reserve and city armed reserve.

Policemen on leave have also been recalled for duty. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has declared its support for the bandh.

This is the second bandh to affect Bangalore, which only last week saw normal life paralysed over the Cauvery issue.

PTI