Bengaluru, 18 July

State government on Thursday ordered the closure of a mall here for seven days after a farmer was denied entry owing to his attire, a 'dhoti' and a white shirt. The incident drew strong condemnation from members cutting across party lines in the Legislative Assembly.

The government also termed the alleged insult to the farmer as an infringement on "dignity and self-respect", and said it cannot be tolerated.

"The government has the powers. Action will be taken against the (GT World) mall immediately," Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh told the House.

Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa said the incident is condemnable.

The incident happened on Tuesday when septuagenarian Fakeerappa from Haveri visited the mall with his wife and son to watch a movie.

Assembly Speaker UT Khader raised the issue and asked the government to take action. "We have to show that the super-rich owning malls are not important for us, and it is the common man, poor and last person of the society who are leading a life with self-esteem are important," he said.

Congress MLA Laxman Savadi urged the government to at least cut the power supply to the mall for a week.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said such issues have been discussed in the House earlier too, "but what's the result?"

During the inquiry, BBMP found that GT World Mall had property tax dues of Rs 1.78 crore.   BBMP’s zonal commissioner Vinoth Priya stated that the mall has not paid property tax for the fiscal year 2023-24.  "We had issued a demand notice. Since the payment has not been received, we are shutting down the mall." -Salar News with Agencies