The Karnataka government has declared a holiday for schools and colleges based in Bengaluru and Mandya districts on September 29, in view of the bandh called by pro-Kannada groups and farmers’ organisations to protest against the release of Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
The statewide shutdown call has been issued by ‘Kannada Okkuta’, an umbrella organisation for Kannada outfits including factions of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Kannada Chalavali (Vatal Paksha) and various farmers’ bodies. The bandh would enforced from dawn to dusk, the organisers said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while maintaining that he supports the right to protest, has asked the demonstrators to maintain peace. The deployment of police personnel would also be escalated to prevent untoward incidents, officials said.
The Congress government in the state on September 27 said it would be approaching the Supreme Court to challenge the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s direction to issue 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from September 28 to October 15.
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Bandh to disrupt routine life
Normal life is expected to be affected in parts of the state, including the capital and IT hub Bengaluru due to the shutdown. There will be a massive protest procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in the city, in which people from all walks of life are likely to participate, 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.
The opposition BJP and JD(S) too have extended their support to the bandh, as also hotels, autorickshaws and hail riders associations in Karnataka.
“Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union and Ola Uber Drivers and Owners’ Association (OUDOA) are supporting the bandh. We will take out a rally from Nayandahalli to the Freedom Park tomorrow,” its president Tanveer Pasha told PTI.
An office bearer of the Karnataka State Private Schools’ Association told PTI that they were extending ‘moral support’ to the bandh.
“We have told our association members to use their discretion regarding the bandh. We have communicated to our students that there are chances of schools remaining shut,” the office-bearer said.
The Bruhath Bangaluru Hotel Association has extended its ‘moral support’ to the strike. However, they were holding a meeting to take a final decision on whether to keep the restaurants and eateries shut for the whole day on September 29.
Meanwhile, the State Transport Department has issued directions to the state transport corporations to continue their services as usual.
Farmers and traders in the northern part of Karnataka such as Ballari, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Bagalkote, Vijayapura, Yadgir, Hubballi-Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal and Davangere have extended their ‘moral support’ to the bandh but said they will not shut down their businesses.
Meanwhile, a few activists on September 28 staged protests in the Cauvery heartland of Mandya against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. They have been staging agitation for the past 15 days.
They alleged that the state government had been lenient towards Tamil Nadu and had not been pursuing the matter stringently.
(With PTI inputs)
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