DMK’s MK Stalin detained.
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Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is waiting for an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to seek his intervention in the water dispute.
In Coimbatore, senior leaders of various political parties, including DMK and MDMK and farmers associations were arrested while trying to stage rail roko near railway stations and road blockade.
There were also incidents of Tamil Nadu truck drivers humiliated and assaulted by the demonstrators in Karnataka. The protest was led by party leader N Seeman.
Counsel for petitioner then told the bench that due to the “rail roko” agitation, buses were also not plying in Karnataka apprehending violence and a similar “bandh” call has been given in Tamil Nadu for on Friday.
The party’s leader MK Stalin was arrested while attempting to stop trains, while his sister staged a road block in Chennai. The impact is higher in the Delta region. The Puducherry Road Transport Corporation, which operated buses in the morning, suspended its services after a bus was damaged by miscreants.
Doctors in India smuggled a desperately ill patient across state borders under cover of darkness to receive a liver transplant after police said violent protests would make a journey by ambulance too unsafe.
Passengers proceeding to neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu were stranded at the bus terminal, it said. Police protection was given to the establishments owned by Karnataka government, besides commercial establishments run by Kannada people.
While public transports, government offices, schools, colleges, banks and others carried on with their routine, a majority of shops remained closed across the state.
Police said attendance in government offices was normal.
While sporadic demonstrations were held on Thursday too, a 24-year-old man set himself on fire at a rally held by Nam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) for “retrieving Tamil Nadu’s rights in Cauvery”, and to condemn attacks on the Tamils in Karnataka. Hoping for further release of water from Karnataka as per apex court orders and expected water release order from Cauvery Supervisory Committee, Jayalalithaa said water from Mettur Dam is being released. He said the police are on the lookout for Bengaluru-based engineering student Santosh D who was thrashed for posting derogatory comments against some Kannada actors on social media, for protesting against the Supreme Court’s directive on the Cauvery river water issue.
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The source said the data is being analysed by officials from the Union Water Resources Ministry and Central Water Commission. In an interim order on September 5, Supreme Court had asked Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for next 10 days to Tamil Nadu, leading to protests in parts of Karnataka.
