The pro-Kannada group and farmers’ organisations called for a state bandh to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu
Two days after Bengaluru witnessed a partial shutdown over the Cauvery river water dispute with Tamil Nadu, a state-wide bandh has been called in Karnataka on Friday.
The bandh, called by the ‘Kannada Okkuta’ – a blanket organisation of pro-Kannada groups – will be in effect for 12 hours starting from 6 am to 6 pm.
The protesters are set to take out a massive protest procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in Bengaluru, among other places in the state.
Earlier on Monday, a pro-Kannada group ‘Kanadda Chaluvali’ – led by Vatal Nagaraj – stood resolute in their call for a statewide bandh and threatened to block national highways and airports. “We will protest in front of the Raj Bhavan,” Nagaraj added.
In view of the state-wide shutdown, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) have been imposed in Karnataka’s Mandya district.
The Bengaluru administration has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in the city for the day. “As Karnataka bandh has been declared by various organisations, a holiday has been declared for all schools and colleges in Bengaluru city in the interest of students,” said KA Dayananda, Bengaluru city district deputy commissioner.
