Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is holding a meeting on Law and order situation in the morning today.
Advertisement
Senior advocate Adish Aggarwala, appearing for P Shivakumar, sought urgent hearing of the PIL saying that on Thursday there is a state-wide bandh in Karnataka and, a day after, Tamil Nadu will have same kind of protest across that state.
CM Siddaramaiah declared hiss intention to impose “law and order with an iron hand”.
Tempers have been running high on Karnataka’s streets since a September 5 Supreme Court ruling which ordered the state to release 15,000 cubic feet of water per second per day (cusecs) from its reservoirs to relieve drought-stricken farmers in Tamil Nadu.
Rejecting Karnataka’s plea seeking placing in abeyance for its earlier order, the court asked the executives to ensure compliance.
Protests began earlier this week over a water sharing deal between the Indian states of Karnataka and neighboring Tamil Nadu. There were a very few vehicles moving on city roads, with schools and colleges and also government offices remaining shut due to Bakrid holiday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed pain over the attacks in the two states locked in a bitter river water sharing row and appealed for calm while stressing that violence can not provide solution to any problem.
Home Minister G Parameshwara said the Police Commissioner would decide on continuing or lifting of curfew depending on the situation.
In Bengaluru, under prohibitory orders till Wednesday and where 16 localities remained under curfew, there were palpable signs of normalcy returning, as city police, assisted by Central forces kept a close vigil.
Farmers also struggle to meet their farming needs. Two people died in clashes with the police while one remains critically injured. Over 350 people were arrested for vandalism in Bengaluru, where buses were burnt and shops were damaged on Monday.
As many as 350 people had been rounded up and investigations are on to find out the culprits who indulged in violence.
Addressing a press conference here after an emergency cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister also urged that the image of “Brand Bengaluru” as India’s tech capital should not be sullied with further violence, as was witnessed on Monday.
Even as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa drew attention to her Karnataka counterpart to the damage to TN-registered vehicles in Karnataka on Monday and Tuesday, owners of the omni buses in TN demanded a compensation of Rs 75 crores for damages.
Advertisement
“The way the violent incidents had spread is demoralizing the business and industrial community, particularly in the capital city of Karnataka”.
