The statewide dawn-to-dusk bandh called by pro-Kannada and farmers' organisations on the Cauvery water row on Friday saw protest marches being taken out across the state.
The shutdown was called by 'Kannada Okkuta', an umbrella organisation for Kannada outfits, including factions of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Kannada Chalavali (Vatal Paksha) and various farmers' bodies, against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
State police detained several members of pro-Kannada organisations who took out a protest march near Attibele in Bengaluru. "We have made proper arrangements given the bandh. More than 50 people from the organisations have been taken into custody. We have sufficient staff and we will make sure nothing goes wrong," Mallikarjun Baladandi, Additional SP of Bengaluru Rural district told reporters.
A massive protest procession is also being planned from Town Hall to Freedom Park in the city, in which people from all walks of life are likely to participate.
#WATCH | Karnataka: Bengaluru Police detain members of pro-Kannada organisations, protesting over the Cauvery Water Issue, near Attibele. pic.twitter.com/XOzVcQ9e9s
— ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2023
The Mandya region also witnessed a strong protest on Friday morning after a few people stepped into river Cauvery to raise their voices against the decision to release water. Section 144 has been imposed in Mandya district, and schools and colleges will remain closed. Most of the shops, business establishments and eateries in Cauvery basin districts downed their shutters. Private vehicles were off the roads in those areas.
Protesters set fire to a portrait of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin in the district headquarters town of Chitradurga.
Though the State Transport Department has issued directions to the state transport corporations to continue their services as usual, the otherwise crowded BMTC and KSRTC bus terminals wore a deserted look on Friday. "Buses are operational. There is no change in bus schedule and routes. However, there aren't passengers," ANI quoted a traffic controller. There were very few takers for Metro services at stations like Vijayanagar.
The opposition BJP and JD(S) have extended their support to the bandh, as well as hotels, autorickshaws and hail riders associations in Karnataka. "Autorickshaw Drivers' Union and Ola Uber Drivers and Owners' Association (OUDOA) are supporting the bandh. We will take out a rally from Nayandahalli to the Freedom Park tomorrow," its president Tanveer Pasha told PTI.
Besides the Karnataka State Private Schools Association, the Bruhath Bangaluru Hotel Association has extended its 'moral support' to the strike. However, it isn't clear whether the restaurants and eateries will down their shutters. The Kannada film industry has extended support to the bandh. Theatres across the State have cancelled shows till evening, with the Karnataka Film Exhibitors Association backing the bandh.
Most of the information technology companies and other firms in Bengaluru have asked their employees to work from home.
