Karnataka bandh against Cauvery water release to TN evokes mixed response
The Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu on Thursday, August 13, evoked a mixed response, with intense protests in Mandya and preventive detentions at several places, even as life remained unaffected in major urban centres such as Bengaluru and Mysuru after several organisations withdrew their support.
The bandh, called by the Federation of Kannada organisations led by Nagaraj, lost momentum after several Kannada organisations backed off, saying a total shutdown was not the solution.
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said some activists, including Praveen Shetty and Sa Ra Govindu, had met him and informed him that they were withdrawing the bandh call. "They have said that they are withdrawing the call, which is very happy news. I congratulate them and thank them for it," Shivakumar told reporters.
Nagaraj was taken into preventive custody from his residence in Bengaluru before he could join the planned protests. He had reportedly planned a rally from the BMTC-KSRTC bus stand to Town Hall and then to Freedom Park, where a protest was to be held.
Nagaraj sat inside his house with his mouth gagged as a mark of silent protest and told police he would not speak to them or participate in the rally.
In Mandya, the epicentre of the Cauvery agitation, farmers and pro-Kannada organisations staged protests at Sanjay Circle and other locations, with activists detained by police after blocking the Bengaluru-Mysuru old highway.
Protesters carried empty pots and horse gram — the alternative crop farmers may be forced to grow instead of paddy for want of water — and shouted slogans such as "our water, our right", urging the government not to release even a drop of water to Tamil Nadu. They described the directions to release water as a death warrant for farmers.
In Mysuru, the bandh largely remained confined to protests, with bus services to Bengaluru, Mangaluru and other parts of the state operating normally and shops, hotels, autorickshaws and taxis functioning without disruption.
Police detained pro-Kannada activists who attempted to block buses near the suburban bus stand. In Koppal, Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists stopped trucks near the Heggnal toll gate and appealed to drivers to support the agitation before being detained.
In the state capital, the bandh had little impact, with BMTC and KSRTC buses operating normally from Kempegowda bus station and schools, colleges and universities functioning as usual. There was no impact at Kempegowda International Airport near Devanahalli, while Hassan reported normal life and Ballari saw a lukewarm response.
Across the state, several organisations that had initially backed the agitation later said they would extend only moral support, with traders, hotel owners and transport bodies insisting that a shutdown was not the answer.
The bandh came in protest against the directions of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to release 12,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from Tuesday. The Supreme Court is scheduled to take up the Cauvery plea on August 17.
Karnataka has maintained that its reservoirs have received substantially lower-than-average inflows and that water must be conserved for drinking purposes, agriculture and essential requirements. The decades-old inter-state river-sharing dispute has remained politically sensitive in Karnataka, with protesters criticising successive governments for allegedly failing to protect the state's interests.
(With inputs from PTI)
