The Karnataka government decided to shut down Bengaluru’s GT Mall for a week after its authorities disallowed an elderly man to enter its premises.
Speaking in the Assembly on Thursday, Minister for Urban Development and Town Planning Bhyrathi Suresh said, “I asked our ex-BBMP commissioner, as per the government laws, the GT Mall can be shut for seven days. We will take action for denying entry to the farmer into the mall.”
In chorus with the decision, Minister for Social Welfare HC Mahadevappa said, “The dignity and self-respect of a person is of paramount importance. It can’t be compared to anything.”
On July 16, an elderly man named Fakeerapan, a farmer by profession, had gone to GT Mall with his son to watch a movie at the multiplex.
However, he was not allowed to enter the mall’s premises after the authorities complained about his attire. Fakeerapan was wearing a traditional turban and a dhoti.
Social activists from the Kanada organization staged a protest in solidarity with Fakeerapan and demanded an apology from the mall management. The activists, wearing a dhoti, entered the mall as an act of revolt.
The GT Mall authorities were quick to issue an apology and felicitated Fakeerapan who had accompanied the activists and issued an apology.
