Even as the state faced massive protest against the Supreme Court order, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday evening said that his government will release more Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, reports said.
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He says that the Supreme Court has passed an illegal order despite not having jurisdiction over the issue.
This is Karnataka’s second bandh in a week and the fourth one this year. The transgender community in the district also took part in the bandh related demonstrations. Extending their support for the Karnataka bandh cable operators have made a decision to ban Tamil channels from 6am to 6pm.
The day-long protest is being spearheaded by as many as 500 pro-Kannada organisations, which represent sections including farmers, traders and businesses, and has the tacit support of the state government.
The Siddaramaiah government said it would move the Supreme Court seeking modification in its order to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu for 10 days because of the difficulties in implementing it. The opposition BJP is also supporting the bandh and its leaders will hold protests today.
The union Water Resources Secretary is the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee while the chief secretaries of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry are its members, besides officials from the Central Water Commission. Schools and government offices are likely to remain closed, according to Siddaramaiah. “We have declared holiday for our employees due to the shutdown and will work on the next weekend to make up for the loss”, an Infosys spokesperson told IANS.
Though additional police personnel were deployed in the town and on the highway to maintain law and order and prevent untoward incidents, the state-run transport corporation (KSRTC) has suspended bus services in the district and across the old Mysuru region.
Earlier, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister TB Jayachandra had urged the people to maintain calm and not damage government property as the state government was taking steps to address the issue.
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On Monday, the SC directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu over the next ten days to save standing Samba crops in the Cauvery basin. Effigies of Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa were burnt.
