A dawn-to-dusk bandh call given by over 1,000 pro-Kannada farmers’ organisations on Friday in protest against the Supreme Court’s directive to release 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily, brought the country’s IT capital and Cauvery basin districts to a standstill and evoked a mixed response elsewhere in the State. Though normal life in the southern Karnataka belt was hit by the bandh supported by the Opposition BJP and the JD(S), it passed off peacefully across the State amid tight security.
Meanwhile, concerned over the “extreme unrest”, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call forthwith “on a few hours’ notice” a meeting of Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to end the impasse.
In a letter to Modi, Siddaramaiah said, “The unrest, if continued, would have a serious impact on the State’s economy as also the IT sector which fetches enormous revenue and foreign exchange to the country. I earnestly request you, not only as Prime Minister, but as Head of the entire Federal system, to call a meeting of the Chief Ministers of the States (forthwith on a few hours notice) to resolve the impasse.”
Pointing to a precedent set in December 1995, he said, “The SC by order dated December, 28, 1995 requested the Prime Minister to resolve the issue of implementation of its order on water release, which was then duly done to the satisfaction of all parties.”
He said the daily release of 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water “would completely deprive not only the residents of Bengaluru of drinking water, but also farmers of the Cauvery basin.
Siddaramaiah added that all parties, including the BJP, were against the release of water, “However, as the constitutional Chief Executive of the State, I have taken it upon myself to obey the orders of the SC and the water is being released as per the order which has created more unrest and disquiet in the State.”
Friday’s bandh was the second in a week over the water-sharing issue and the brunt of it was borne by Bengaluru, Mandya, Mysuru and neighboring districts where massive protest marches and demonstrations were held. However, the response was tepid in coastal districts.
Slogan-shouting Kannada groups forced the closure of schools and colleges apart from Government and corporate offices. Hundreds of IT firms, back offices and multinationals also logged out in protest. IT companies like WIPRO, Infosys and other Indian and multinational companies closed in view of the bandh.
Effigies of Siddaramaiah, Jayalalithaa and Karnataka’s Water Resources Minister MB Patil were also burnt at several places by activists of the pro-Kannada Rakshana Vedike. Broadcast of Tamil channels has been stopped by cable operators.
In Mandya, police fired in the air and used batons against protesters at the KRS Dam, one of the four dams on the Cauvery.
In Bengaluru the bandh was total as everything was shut and the always busy and congested roads of the city wore a deserted look. Transport services, including State-owned bus services were off the road along with taxis and autos. State-run Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation, which operates on the east-west corridor, also suspended its service till late evening.
Thousands of passengers were stranded at Bengaluru airport due to unavailability of taxis and buses, while many who had to catch a flight on Friday reached the airport late on Thursday itself.
Medical shops, factories, banks, markets, shops, malls, hotels, eateries, pubs, bars, theatres and petrol pumps closed in support of the shutdown.
About 5,000 people, including Kannada film stars like Puneet Rajkumar and Ragini, producers and directors marched in a procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in Bengaluru and addressed a huge gathering, urging the State Government to stop releasing water to Tamil Nadu and instead supply it for irrigation to farms in Mysuru region.
“The State-wide shutdown is in protest against the Supreme Court’s order and to express resentment over the State Government releasing the Cauvery water when we don’t have it for drinking and irrigation,” said Vatal Nagaraj, leader of the Kannada Para Okkoota.
Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon ltd Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who criticised the bandh drew the ire of the protesters.
“Another Bandh-it’s now Bandhaluru where bandhs r affecting productivity-what a sad situation where farmers on both sides can’t share,” tweeted Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
She later deleted the controversial tweet after some politicians such as Vatal Nagaraj, demanded an apology for the tweet. Shaw said her comments were misconstrued.
“We r observing Bandh in solidarity with people n farmers of Karnataka who r facing water challenges. Hope 2 States resolve dispute amicably,” she tweeted later.