The violence that has triggered amid the ongoing Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has impacted the states in more ways than one.
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“Whenever the country has faced adverse circumstances, the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, just like people across the country have always handled the situation with sensitivity”, PM Modi said.
“Such disputes can not be resolved by whipping up passions amongst the people of both the states and pitting them against each other”.
He also said that he will urge the PM to call up Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and speak to her to perhaps soften her stance in he terms of sharing of waters of the Cauvery river.
Protests over the Cauvery issue continued in some parts of Tamil Nadu for the second day with fringe outfits like Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) holding agitations outside Kannada establishments in Chennai and in Coimbatore. In Bengaluru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “It is true that violence is not a solution to any problem”.
Bus services between the two states have also been suspended, with a Tamil Nadu service owner saying 30 of his vehicles had been torched outside Bangalore.
“The impact is that people are scared and not spending too much time at work”.
He said the dispute can only be solved within the legal ambit, adding that breaking the law is not a viable alternative.
Farmers in Mandya, known as the rice bowl of Karnataka, and in Thanjavur (formerly Tanjore), the river belt region again labelled as the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, have been at loggerheads over the river water. “In a democracy, solutions are found through restraint and mutual dialogue”, he said.
Though there is no holiday for schools and colleges, many private schools have remained closed on Wednesday and the managements have chose to compensate th holiday by shortening the Dasara holidays next month.
Protests were also held outside branches of Bank of Karnataka in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
According to Assocham, widespread loss would accrue to IT and ITeS facilities due to poor attendance for the last few days and the inter-state tourism particularly involving pilgrims and domestic travellers has been affected.
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India’s technology hub Bengaluru has witnessed massive riots in the wake of India’s Supreme Court decision not to suspend an order which directed the south Indian state of Karnataka to provide water to neighboring Tamil Nadu.
