He demanded a special session of the union territory Assembly to adopt a resolution condemning Karnataka government for “failure” to protect Tamils.
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In Tamil Nadu, a popular hotel owned by a Kannadiga was targeted by protestors while vehicles bearing Karnataka registration were attacked in Rameswaram.
The Supreme Court on Monday lambasted Karnataka for defying its order citing law and order situation in the state and said its stand “is absolutely disturbing” and “totally depreciable”, but modified its September 5 order asking Karnataka to release a reduced amount of 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water per day to Tamil Nadu till September 20 from the earlier 15,000 cusecs a day.
India suffers severe water shortages that cause frequent tensions between states and the row over the Cauvery river stretches back decades.
RJ Balaji also asked people who post videos, photos on social media to “shut up and shut shop” for a couple of days and said that those who were engaged in violence were people with political agendas.
A Rapid Action Force platoon staged a flag-march in the city’s north-west suburb to instil confidence in the people that the situation is under control.
Both the State Governments should take effective measures to check the violence immediately, he said.
In a release here on Tuesday it said that violence and the weeklong agitation across Karnataka had led to damage vital urban infrastructure, vinterruption in the transport including, roads, rail and air and inability of the workforce to safely move to and from offices and factories.
The bustling IT city was bereft of its monstrous traffic.
Violence targeting Tamil Nadu buses and lorries and other vehicles put the city on edge yesterday and curfew was imposed in 16 police station limits last night.
Though government has not declared holiday of schools and colleges, few private institutions remained shut today.
Sporadic protests have been reported in various parts of the state like Mandya, Chitradurga, Ramanagara and Mysuru.
Numerous omni operators preferred to suspend services to Bengaluru from Tiruchi on Monday itself following the torching of several private buses belonging to Tamil Nadu in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah held a meeting with senior Congress leaders from the state.
“It is hard to implement the Supreme Court order, but we will ensure enough drinking water for Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, and other Cauvery basin areas”, he added. Karnataka is facing an acute shortage of water in its reservoirs and rivers as the state has only received subpar rainfall in the catchment areas leading to protests by farmers and pro Kannada organisations refusing to share water with its neighbouring state.
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Water Resource Minister M B Patil said the cabinet would discuss and “we will decide on what has to be done next”.
