Cauvery bandh cripples Karnataka, CM turns to PM

Concerned over the “extreme unrest” over the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene “on a few hours notice” a meeting of chief ministers of the two states to end the impasse.

Mr Siddaramaiah wrote to Mr Modi even as a 12-hour Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada and farmers outfits to protest the Supreme Court’s direction to release water to Tamil Nadu on Friday brought the country’s IT capital and Cauvery basin districts to a standstill.

Normal life in southern Karnataka belt, known as the old Mysuru region, was hit by the dawn-to-dusk bandh supported by some 800 organisations and the Opposition BJP and JDS, but it passed off peacefully across the state amid tight security.

Complying with the Supreme Court order on Monday last, the Karnataka government has been releasing 15,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu since September 6. This has triggered a wave of protests in the state, specifically in Cauvery river belt.

The brunt of the bandh was borne by Bengaluru, Mandya, the epicentre of Cauvery agitation, Mysuru and neighboring districts where massive protest marches and demonstrations were held, but the response was tepid in coastal districts.

Some 14,000 security personnel were deployed here, bolstered by Karnataka State Reserve Police, City Armed Reserve and Rapid Action Force.

In Mandya, the police lathicharged and lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse protesters who tried to storm Krishnaraja Sagar Dam site, during which a few farmers were injured. A few farmers jumped into the river as a mark of protest, but were rescued.

One protester allegedly tried to commit suicide by consuming poison but was stopped by the police. In Town Hall, a man allegedly stabbed himself with a sharp weapon but is now undergoing treatment.