The same is happening between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu where the ongoing water war over the distribution of Cauvery river waters have deeply rattled off not just these two states but also sent a sense of uncertainty across the country.
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In Chennai, more than 200 DMK cadres, led by its leader M K Stalin and his sister Kanimozhi, were arrested when they tried to barge into the Egmore railway station.
DMK leaders MK Stalin and Kanimozhi were among the several leaders detained on Friday while staging protests in support of the bandh.
Chennai: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued notice to governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, seeking reports on people injured and properties damaged in the recent protests.
The video resulted in attacks on Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu and reciprocal attacks on Tamil Nadu businesses and vehicles in Karnataka. “As on September 14, Tamil Nadu received 8.92tmc ft water only”.
MDMK leader Vaiko with about 200 cadres carried out a rail roko at Trichy junction.
Police, however, took the protesters, including federation president Vatal Nagaraj, Kannada Rakshane Vedike convener Praveen Shetty and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president Sa Ra Govindu into custody and whisked away from the venue.
There were several incidents in which Tamil Nadu truck drivers were humiliated and assaulted by the demonstrators in Karnataka.
Pa. Vignesh, a 25-year-old youth from Mannarkudi, who set himself on fire on Thursday, succumbed to burn injuries around 11am in Chennai on Friday.
Inter-state bus services to and from Tamil Nadu remained suspended.
VCK Chief Thol Thirumavalavan, who staged a rail roko with his supporters by blocking an express train, was detained by police near Basin Bridge in Chennai.
India suffers severe water shortages that cause frequent tensions between states and the row over sharing the Cauvery River, which starts in drought-hit Karnataka, stretches back decades.
The central government is not setting up the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulatory Authority, he said.
“Based on the Supreme Court order asking Karnataka to release the Cauvery water and also hoping that the northeast monsoon will be normal, I have ordered opening of the dam so that farmers can go ahead with their samba cultivation”, said Jayalalithaa in a statement.
“The storage level in the Mettur dam stands at 84.76 feet”. Since the Centre did not constituted them, “We have to approach the Supreme Court to receive our due share of water from the Cauvery, ” she said.
Large-scale demonstrations were witnessed in Thanjavur and the Cauvery delta region by VCK, MDMK and Left parties.
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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 20 September.
