The Cauvery River has been a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for more than a century, and both the states had witnessed violence over who gets access to its water on many occasions in the past.
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Citing precedence, Mr. Kharge said that former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and M. Manmohan Singh took similar initiatives during their tenure.
Pointing out that the violence was an instantaneous reaction to the developments in Tamil Nadu, Parameshwara said, “We have controlled it as far as possible, or else there were chances of it going out of control and more loss of lives”. In agreement with the SC Order, the government of India established the Cauvery Water Tribunal on 2 June 1990.
As the orgy of violence targeting Tamil Nadu buses and lorries and other vehicles brought the city on the edge, night curfew was imposed in 16 police station limits late Monday night and the entire city is under prohibitory orders till September 14.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and State Home Minister G Parameshwara have urged people to maintain peace. “In a democracy, solutions are found through restraint and mutual dialogue”, Prime Minister Modi said in a statement.
About 15,000 thousand police personnel have been deployed in Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysuru, including 10 companies of the Rapid Action Force and five companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and five companies of the City Armoured Force in Bengalouru to ensure peace and maintain law and order.
The Cauvery River originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu before eventually feeding into the Bay of Bengal.
At Neyveli, police foiled protestors’ bid to burn an effigy of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah and detained activists of the Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi. Breaking the law is not a viable alternative.
The Supreme Court, modifying its September 5 order, had asked Karnataka on Monday to release a reduced amount of 12000 cusecs of Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu till September 20.
In a hard-hitting message, RJ Balaji from Chennai has asked people to “look beyond their linguistic identities and discover their common humanity” instead of fighting over Cauvery water.
While Bangalore was calm on Tuesday, protests were held along the 150-kilometre (93-mile) highway from the state capital to Mysore city.
Decision taken after emergency Cabinet meet convened by Siddaramaiah.
Karnataka argued that Tamil Nadu’s claims of agony are “fake” and the state itself is going through water crises due to poor rainfall.
He also said that the state would take care of the legal battle and present its views before the Supreme Court on October 18 when the Special Leave Petition would come up for hearing.
The embattled chief minister said he has sought Modi’s intervention on the issue that has sparked largescale violence in capital Bengaluru where mobs targeted Tamil-speaking people, torched vehicles and attacked businesses.
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Siddaramaiah also appealed to the media for cooperation to help normalise the situation.
