Situation pacified in Bengaluru, a day of after uneasy calm prevailed in the city, following large-scale violence over Cauvery water sharing row with Tamil Nadu. In fact it was some miscreants in Tamil Nadu who started the protests, by attacking Kannada people and establishments in Chennai and other cities.
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Siddaramaiah also wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, requesting her to ensure the safety of Kannadigas in the state, on the day of the Bandh.
“Educational institutions, offices and businesses will remain shut in curfew-bound areas as a precautionary measure”, Megharikh told reporters here.
The apex court made the observation while rebuking the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments for failing to curb violence over the Cauvery water dispute.
Senior DMK leader MK Stalin was taken into preventive custody on Friday after staging a rail roko at the Egmore Railway station in Chennai. The bandh is supported by the opposition parties DMK, Congress, MDMK, PMK, TMC, CPI (M), and CPI.
The court had initially directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water for 10 days, but later modified it’s order, and asked the upper riparian state to release 12,000 cusecs of water till September 20.
Expressing concern over the TN bandh call given by “certain organisations”, Siddaramaiah said, “Escalation of animosity between the two states would be to the collective detriment of both the states”. While state transport corporation-run buses besides trains are operating as usual, some autorickshaws, taxis and commercial freight operators stayed off the roads.
Most schools and colleges, however, declared a holiday for either Onam festival or as a precaution. Hotels and cinema houses were also closed.
Political outfits such as Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi, Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi, Makkal Desiya Katchi and DMK-affiliated trade union, Labour Progressive Force (LPF), also extended support for tomorrow’s bandh.
The Karnataka government then appealed the ruling to the top court, which reduced the daily supply to Tamil Nadu. Government schools functioned, but not with full complement of students.
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Passengers proceeding to neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu were stranded at the bus terminal, it said.
