Two days after a partial shutdown in Bengaluru over the Cauvery River water dispute with Tamil Nadu, a state-wide bandh has been called in Karnataka on Friday. The bandh, called by the pro-Kannada umbrella organization 'Kannada Okkuta', will be in effect for 12 hours from 6 am to 6 pm.
Karnataka Bandh Updates
Pro-Kannada groups and farmers' organizations have called for a state-wide bandh to protest the release of Cauvery River water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
The protesters plan to hold a massive protest procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in Bengaluru, as well as in other parts of the state. Earlier on Monday, a pro-Kannada group called 'Kanadda Chaluvali' threatened to block national highways and airports if the government does not release the water.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in Karnataka's Mandya district in view of the state-wide shutdown.
Autorickshaws and hail-riding services in Karnataka are also supporting the bandh. The Autorickshaw Drivers' Union and the Ola Uber Drivers and Owners' Association (OUDOA) have announced that they will be participating in the bandh and taking out a rally from Nayandahalli to Freedom Park.
Services likely to be closed during the bandh include all educational institutions, private cab services, shopping malls, and movie theatres.
Services that will be functional during the bandh: All KSRTC, BMTC, and other public transport services, banks, and emergency services like ambulances, pharma vehicles, hospitals, and medical stores.
On Thursday, members of the pro-Kannada group ‘Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Swabhimani Sene’ interrupted actor Siddharth's press conference in Bengaluru, where he was promoting his upcoming film ‘Chikku’.
The group demanded that he leave the venue, saying that it was not an appropriate time for him to be doing that as Tamil Nadu was demanding Cauvery River water from Karnataka.
The Karnataka government has argued that it is unable to release water to Tamil Nadu due to insufficient inflow into its reservoirs caused by lower rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area, including regions in Kerala.
The Cauvery River is a major river in southern India that originates in the Brahmagiri range of the Western Ghats in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. It flows for about 800 km before entering the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu.