Karnataka bandh over Cauvery water release to Tamil Nadu sees mixed response across state

The Karnataka bandh called by proKannada activist Vatal Nagaraj against the release of 12000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu on Thursday evoked a mixed response across the state with intense protests in Mandya and preventive detentions in several places while normal life continued in major urban centres such as Bengaluru and MysuruThe bandh was called by the Federation of Kannada organisations led by Nagaraj to protest the directions of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee CWRC and the Cauvery Water Management Authority CWMA to release water to Tamil NaduProtesters have urged the Karnataka government not to release any further water arguing that the state itself needs water for drinking purposes and agricultureIn Mandya the epicentre of the Cauvery agitation farmers and proKannada organisations staged protests at Sanjay Circle and other locations Protesters carried empty pots and horse gram and raised slogans including Our water our rightFarmers block BengaluruMysuru highwayThe protesters also blocked the old BengaluruMysuru highway during the demonstrationsHorse gram was used as a symbol of the alternative crop that farmers may be forced to grow instead of paddy because of inadequate water availabilityOne protester appealed to the government to not release even a drop of water to Tamil Nadu and urged it to defy the directions issued by the CWRC and CWMAProtesters described the water release directions as a death warrant for farmers and criticised successive governments for allegedly failing to protect Karnatakas interests in the Cauvery disputeThey also invoked former chief ministers D Devaraj Urs and S Bangarappa while demanding that the state government take a firm position against the watersharing directionsAnother protester alleged that successive governments had failed to find a permanent solution to the dispute despite spending thousands of crores of rupees on legal battlesMysuru sees limited impact on transport and businessesIn Mysuru the bandh largely remained confined to protests with public transport and commercial activity continuing normallyBus services from the suburban bus stand to Bengaluru Mangaluru and other parts of the state operated as usual Shops hotels and other commercial establishments remained open while autorickshaws and taxis also operated without disruptionPolice detained proKannada activists who attempted to block buses near the suburban bus standThe protesters raised slogans against the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments and demanded that no Cauvery water be released to Tamil NaduKarnataka Sene district president Tejas Lokesh Gowda said the government should not yield to pressure from Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issueGowda demanded that the Centre mediate between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and convene a meeting of the two chief ministers to work towards a permanent solutionHe also sought a scientific watersharing formula for years of low rainfall and urged Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to immediately convene an allparty meetingBengaluru largely unaffected by bandhThe bandh had little impact in Bengaluru during the morning hours Stateowned BMTC and KSRTC buses operated normally from Kempegowda bus station while police were deployed across the platforms as a precautionPolice personnel conducted rounds to prevent attempts to stop buses and incidents such as stonepelting Security was also stepped up in view of the possibility of activists attempting to disrupt bus servicesSchools colleges and universities in Bengaluru functioned normally Schools continued with regular classes while some institutions conducted scheduled internal examinationsThere was also no visible impact at Kempegowda International Airport near DevanahalliHail taxi riders airport taxis and KSTDC taxis operated normally while passengers continued to arrive and depart without disruption CISF and state police personnel maintained security at the airport as a precautionNormal activity reported across several districtsHassan also reported normal life with buses autos and other transport services operating as usual Shops and other establishments remained openBallari reported a lukewarm response to the bandh with normal activities continuing Police maintained a tight vigil and warned of strict action against anyone attempting to create trouble Protests were expected to remain largely symbolic with organisations planning to submit memorandaIn Koppal Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists staged a protest near the Heggnal toll gate They stopped trucks offered flowers to drivers and appealed to drivers to support the bandh and the Cauvery agitation Police subsequently detained the protestersAcross the state several organisations that had initially announced support for the bandh later clarified that they would extend only moral support while participating in protestsTraders hotel owners auto and taxi drivers farmers organisations and other groups in several districts said they supported the Cauvery issue but did not believe a shutdown was the solutionWater release decision remains at centre of disputeThe bandh comes amid growing opposition in Karnataka to the CWMAs decision to ensure the release of 12000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days starting TuesdayKarnataka has maintained that its reservoirs have received substantially lowerthanaverage inflows and that available water must be conserved for drinking purposes agriculture and other essential requirementsWith inputs from PTI