Siddaramaiah said that though the modified order of the Court was hard to implement, the state had no option but to follow the constitutional framework.
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Karnataka has suffered losses of around Rs 25,000 crore because of the protests and bandhs held in the past few days over the Cauvery water-sharing dispute, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India said on Tuesday.
The violence in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu after the Supreme Court’s direction on release of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu is quite disturbing, M Venkaiah Naidu, Minister of Information and Broadcasting said.
“I trust you will keep national interest and nation building above all else, and give priority to restraint, harmony, and finding a solution, eschewing violence”, he said.
Siddaramaiah assured the people of Bengaluru, especially Tamils, of protection to them and their property, a day after widespread violence rocked the city over releasing the Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu. “Breaking the law is not a viable alternative”, Modi said in a series of Tweets.
According to preliminary inquiry by the police, 97 vehicles (buses trucks and cars), including 78 in Bengaluru were either torched, burnt or fully destroyed during the violent protests on Monday.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah vowed to protect the thousands of Tamils living in the state after mobs targeted dozens of vehicles with Tamil licence plates.
It means Tamil Nadu will receive more water than Karnataka is willing to share.
A curfew was imposed in 15 areas of Bangalore for the next three days “to maintain peace and prevent untoward incidents” during Eid Al Adha, said the city’s police commissioner NS Megharikh.
He also requested TV channels to stop repeating visuals of violence that occurred on Monday.
Meanwhile, certain Tamil nationalist groups unhappy with Tamil people being attacked in Karnataka entered into protests.
Both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are witnessing violent protests in the wake of a row over distribution of Cauvery water.
Multinationals like Amazon.com, as well as Indian technology firms such as Infosys, were among major employers who had told workers to stay home on Tuesday while riot police enforced a curfew in parts of the city.
Activists of “Naam Tamilar” party, a pro-Tamil group made a decision to protest in front of a Karnataka based businessman’s hotel in Chinthathiripet, Chennai. The metro rail also resumed its service in the city last night.
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Apart from that, most schools in Bengaluru were closed with parents being called to take their kids home.
