K'taka bandh on Friday will be successful, say Kannada outfits

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: 'Kannada Okkuta', an umbrella organisation for Kannada organisations, on Wednesday claimed that the dawn to dusk bandh called by them on September 29, to protest against release of Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, will be successful, and warned the state government against measures to curtail it.

As part of the bandh from 6am to 6 pm on Friday, there will be a massive protest procession from Town Hall to Freedom park in the city, the organisers said.

They have said that the bandh is for the entire Karnataka and that they will try to shut highways, toll gates, rail services, and also airports.

"More than 1,900 organisations and pro Kannada organisations have supported it. From Belagavi or Bidar to Chamarajanagara and from Mangaluru to Kolar, everyone is ready to observe bandh," 'Kannada Okkuta' leader and Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj said.

He also hit out at Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for appealing to the Kannada organisations to call off the Karnataka bandh on Friday and saying the Bengaluru bandh had been successful.