Karnataka bandh: 50 members of pro-Kannada organisations protesting over Cauvery water issue detained

Bengaluru Police on Friday detained over 50 members of pro-Kannada organisations near Karnataka’s Attibele town as statewide bandh to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu began in the state. The two southern states are once again at loggerheads over the Cauvery water-sharing issue following the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s directives to release water from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu at a time when several taluks in the state have been declared drought hit.

#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

“We have made proper arrangements as a bandh has been called by several pro-Kannada organisations. More than 50 people from the organisations have been taken into custody… We have sufficient staff and we will make sure nothing goes wrong…,” said Mallikarjun Baladandi, Additional SP of Bengaluru Rural district. Protest rallies have been planned in different parts of the state, including the state capital Bengaluru. All educational institutions in Bengaluru will remain closed and restrictions under section 144 have been imposed in the city. Elaborate security arrangements have been made across the state and a large number of police personnel have been deployed. Kannada Okkuta’, an umbrella organisation for Kannada outfits including factions of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Kannada Chalavali (Vatal Paksha) and various farmers’ bodies have given a call for the statewide dawn-to-dusk shutdown. There will be a massive protest procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in the city, in which people from all walks of life are likely to participate, the organisers said. They have said that the bandh is for the entire Karnataka and that they will try to shut highways, toll gates, rail services, and also airports. The opposition BJP and JD(S) too have extended their support to the bandh, as also hotels, autorickshaws and hail riders associations in Karnataka. With inputs from agencies