Karnataka bandh over Cauvery water row: Schools, colleges, offices shut in Bangalore

Karnataka bandh over Cauvery water row: Schools, colleges, offices shut in Bangalore

Bangalore:  Many schools, colleges, offices and shops in Karnataka are closed today due to the 12-hour bandh call given by various Kannada outfits to protest against the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) order directing the state to release water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The bandh is being supported by the ruling BJP as well as the opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).

Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:

1. The 12-hour shutdown began at 6 am. There has been near total impact in Bangalore and the Cauvery basin districts of Mandya, Mysore and Chamarajanagar.
2. Almost all schools, colleges, offices and shops in Bangalore and the Cauvery basin districts are closed, roads are empty, state transport buses and autos are not plying. Metro trains are however running on time. 
3. The shutdown will not have much impact on IT firms in Bangalore as most of them have their weekly holiday on Saturday.
4. A large number of security personnel have been deployed across the state to ensure peace during the shutdown. 17000 police personnel are keeping a vigil in Bangalore alone.
5. The protest is being held against the September 19 decision of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) that directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu daily from September 20 to October 15. The CRA is chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
6. Karnataka, however, started releasing water only last Saturday after a directive from the Supreme Court, which pulled up the state government for not obeying the CRA order.
7. Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had walked out of the CRA meeting after registering a protest over the ruling and expressing inability to release the Cauvery water due to drought in the state. Karnataka says it does not even have enough water for its own needs after an insufficient monsoon.
8. The state has been witnessing daily protests and demonstrations since Sunday over the CRA order. The protests are mainly being held in Bangalore, Mandya, Mysore, and Chamarajanagar. Traffic movement in Bangalore was severely hit for several hours yesterday as a number of rallies were held in the city in protest against the CRA order. Some of these rallies were led by religious leaders and several Kannada film actors. Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa and hundreds of his supporters also staged a day-long protest at MG Road yesterday. A separate rally was organised by the JD(S).
9. The protests coincided with the visit of a team of central government officials at the Cauvery basin areas to assess water availability and requirement of Karnataka. Another team is visiting Tamil Nadu for the same purpose. The two teams are expected to submit their reports within a week to the central government.
10. Karnataka has moved the Supreme Court to seek review of the CRA's "impractical" order. The state's petition says that Karnataka is having a "distress water year". Tamil Nadu, which faces perennial water shortage, has said that it needs water urgently to save its crops. The Supreme Court will hear the petition again on Monday.