Bengaluru/Chennai: An uneasy calm enveloped Bengaluru even as protests erupted at Mandya and Mysuru in southern Karnataka on Tuesday over the Cauvery water row with Tamil Nadu.
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Police arrested almost 400 people for looting and vandalism in India’s information technology hub of Bangalore after a curfew was imposed to quell violence set off by a court ruling over a disputed water source, a police officer said yesterday.
The Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been sent to the violence-prone areas of Karnataka to assist the local administration to ensure peace, official sources said.
A hotel promoted by a Kannadiga and some vehicles with Karnataka registration were attacked at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.
He urged people to not take law in their hands.
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.
The incidents of rioting and arson across Karnataka has reportedly caused losses of almost Rs 25,000 crore according to trade body ASSOCHAM.
“We have lifted curfew from all the 16 police station limits in the city’s northwest and southwest suburbs as the situation is under control and normalcy has returned”, Bengaluru Police Commissioner N.S. Megharikh told the media. “We relaxed the partial curfew in the city for Muslims to offer Eid prayers”, Parameshwara told reporters.
Most schools and colleges, however, declared a holiday for either Onam festival or as a precaution.
Buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws went off the roads.
Passengers going to or alighting at railway junctions and bus terminals in the city and the airport were able to get transport.
State-run and private bus services to and from Tamil Nadu have been suspended from Karnataka.
Cable operators in Bengaluru blocked all the 52 Tamil television channels to prevent retaliatory attacks and check emotions. Police have rounded up close to 400 people in different parts of Bengaluru and across the state.
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Tech companies and multinational firms that downed their shutters in India’s ITcapital on Tuesday have opened their offices and asked employees to return to work.
