The Karnataka government on Tuesday made a decision to obey the Supreme Court’s modified order which asked it to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till 20 September, though it said “this order is the most hard to follow”.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed pain over the attacks in the two states locked in a bitter river water sharing row and appealed for calm while stressing that violence can not provide solution to any problem.
Protests erupted over a Supreme Court order for Karnataka state, of which Bangalore is the capital, to release water from a river to ease a shortage in Tamil Nadu until later this month.
Around 15,000 police officers were deployed on the largely deserted streets of the southern city to enforce a curfew, after rampaging, stone-pelting mobs set buses and cars ablaze yesterday.
The violence in the Cauvery water dispute claimed its second life today, as an uneasy calm hung over worst-hit Bengaluru amid sporadic protests in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu marked by targeted attacks.
“Such disputes can only be resolved through negotiations and a mutual agreement on how these waters are to be shared. Breaking the law is not a viable alternative”, Modi said in a series of tweets. The State Government has issued holidays to all schools in the city to ensure the protection of students.
Bengaluru/Chennai: Violence broke out in Bengaluru and parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry yesterday, as part of the ongoing agitation against release of Cauvery water.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav and state Director General of Police Om Prakash spoke to their Tamil Nadu counterparts to act against culprits who assaulted Kannadigas and damaged their property, including an upscale hotel (Woodlands) run by a prominent hospitality chain in Karnataka.
Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the violence can’t be justified on any ground.
Vehicles with Tamil Nadu registration plates have been attacked and protesters have blocked roads by burning tyres and effigies of politicians. Officials said the personnel have been sent to the violence-prone areas of Karnataka and if need arises, some of the contingents will also be deployed in Tamil Nadu. In 2012, SC directed two states chief ministers to work on the solution on this issue, no formulae came out, Now it was raised like anything starting from the roots of old dispute.
The Siddaramaiah government asked Tamil Nadu to protect Kannadigas while assuring to safeguard Tamils in the state.
On Monday, pro-Kannada activists in the state staged demonstrations, burnt down vehicles heading towards Tamil Nadu.
Jayalalithaa, to investigate reports of violence in Tamil Nadu against people originally from his state.
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This week’s disturbances, in which dozens of vehicles were set on fire, have been the most serious in a city where gleaming new business parks are supposed to reflect the face of a modern, booming India.
