Farmer denied entry to mall in B'luru for being in dhoti

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Fakeerappa, a 79-year-old farmer, went to a mall in Bengaluru with his son to watch a movie at a multiplex. However, he was denied entry due to his attire — a panche (also called a dhoti), which he matched with a white shirt.

The incident occurred at GT Mall on Magadi Main Road around 6 pm on July 16. Fakeerappa’s son, Nagaraj, recorded the conversation with the security supervisor at the mall entrance. In the recording, the supervisor can be heard saying that the mall's rules prohibit entry to people wearing a dhoti and that the farmer would be allowed only if he wore pants.

Speaking to media persons later, Nagaraj expressed his desire for his father to experience watching a film in a multiplex. Fakeerappa questioned, “How can people from a village let go of their panche and come dressed in pants to watch a film?” Kuruburu Shanthakumar, State president of the Karnataka Federation of Farmer Unions, condemned the incident, stating that it was not the first occurrence in Bengaluru or its malls.

He demanded that the mall management apologise and remove such dress codes, warning that thousands of farmers would enter the mall in protest if necessary. In a related incident in February, a farmer wearing a panche was stopped by security guards from boarding a Namma Metro train despite having a valid ticket.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited later dismissed the security supervisor responsible for stopping the farmer.