B'luru shuts down for the Cauvery cause, Kannada activists set deadline

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru bandh called by various organisations over the Cauvery river water dispute led to an almost total shutdown of the IT City with schools, colleges and most commercial establishments remaining closed and fewer people venturing out.

Transport operations were severely hit with with BMTC and KSRTC running skeletal services while cabs and autos mostly remained off the roads till the evening hours.

Metro operations however continued as usual albeit with fewer passengers. 'Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti', an umbrella outfit of farmers' associations and other organisations led by Kuruburu Shanthakumar, had given the call for the dawn to dusk (6am to 6pm) shutdown.

Shanthakumar and other leaders of the Samiti were detained by the police at Mysuru Bank circle, as they were trying to lead a protest march towards Town Hall.

Farmers' leaders and pro-Kannada activists hit out at the government for allegedly using police force to curtail the protests and the bandh. They later staged protests at Freedom Park, which is the only designated place for such demonstrations.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy met the protesters at Freedom Park and received a memorandum from them. The five-point memorandum includes demands that water is not released from Cauvery to Tamil Nadu, an election commission-like body be put together to assess things during distress years, Mekedatu project be implemented, and cases against farmers and proKannada activists be withdrawn.

The government is on the side of the farmers and is committed to protecting the interests of the state and its people, Reddy added. The samiti has set a three-day deadline for the government to announce its decision, failing which the outfit will intensify their protest.

'Kannada Okkuta', an umbrella organisation for pro-Kannada organisations -- led by Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj, has called for a statewide bandh on September 29.

Activists: Don't release water to TN

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee(CWRC) on Tuesday recommended that Karnataka release 3000 cusecs water to Tamil Nadu from September 28 to October 15 instead of the 5000 cusecs ordered earlier.The CWRC has rejected Tamil Nadu's request for 12,000 cusecs with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar expressing satisfaction over this development.

However, Kuruburu Shanthakumar and Vatal Nagaraj, key leaders spearheading the protests, urged the Karnataka government not to release any amount of water to Tamil Nadu, at any cost.

Protest hits commuters hard

No regular rush was observed at the bus and metro stations in the city. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Staff and Workers Federation had called on Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) employees not to ply buses between 6 am and 6 pm.

Domestic carrier IndiGo Airlines cancelled 10 flights to Bengaluru from different parts of the country due to poor patronage as a result of the bandh.