Bengaluru bandh tomorrow over release of Kaveri river water to Tamil Nadu
Bengaluru bandh : Amid ongoing protests across Karnataka against the release of Kaveri river water to neighboring Tamil Nadu, two bandhs have been called this week – in Bengaluru tomorrow, and statewide on Friday.
The Karnataka bandh on September 29 was announced on Monday under the banner of ‘Kannada Okkuta’ – led by Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj, followed a few days later by ‘Karnataka Water Conservation Committee’, a major organization of farmer unions and other organisations. The Bengaluru bandh was called on Tuesday under the leadership of farmer leader Kuruburu Shantakumar.
Both bandhs reflect the divide between farmers and pro-Kannada organisations, and now there is confusion over who is supporting the bandh on which day, and whether services will be available tomorrow.
While Shantakumar has said that they will go ahead with the Bengaluru bandh on Tuesday, Vatal Nagaraj, who has called for a state bandh on Friday, clarified that Kannada Okkuta is not supporting tomorrow’s bandh.
Shantakumar said they have received support from many organizations for tomorrow’s bandh call and they will take it forward.
“We will protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru and demonstrate there with our demands. The state government, the Chief Minister will have to take our memorandum. If there is no proper response to our protest from the government, we will protest.” Decide on our further course of action,” he said.
Calling for a peaceful bandh, he also appealed to the police to take adequate measures to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.
Vatal Nagaraj said that he has asked ‘Karnataka Water Conservation Committee’ to postpone his bandh call and observe it with them on September 29.
“We have called for Akhand Karnataka Bandh (Complete Karnataka Bandh) on September 29. It will be observed in the entire state without leaving out any district. Our fight is for the entire Karnataka. Kannada Okkuta has called for more than 50 bandhs across the state. Too far,” he said, questioning why the bandh was called only for Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, Ola-Uber Drivers Association today said they will extend full support to the September 29 Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada organisations, but will not support tomorrow’s bandh.
“Our services will be back to normal tomorrow. The decision was taken in a meeting held today in the presence of pro-Kannada activists and various organisations,” the association said in a statement. The view is that they cannot afford to lose two days of work.
The Hotel Owners Association has also decided to withdraw support for the bandh tomorrow citing confusion and said all hotels and restaurants will remain open.
However, associations and unions operating autos and taxis have extended their full support to tomorrow’s strike call, and the KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation has also asked Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) employees to work from depots from morning till evening. Also asked not to take out the bus. 6 am to 6 pm).
Metro services are likely to be unaffected by the bandh call and will continue to operate normally.
Most private schools and colleges across the state have already declared holiday in view of the Bengaluru bandh yesterday.
JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said his party would support tomorrow’s bandh.
He said, “I have asked my party workers to support the bandh. Our workers will support. There should be no possibility of any untoward incident.”
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also said that people have the right to protest but there should be no violence. Addressing the media here, he said, protesting is everyone’s right in a democracy and it will not be curtailed.
“People from our party also called and talked to me about the protest, I said, it is your right and protect it… but one should understand about the court orders before calling for a protest or bandh. It is okay to make such calls just for the sake of media publicity, because such calls can have legal consequences,” he said, adding that let them take a decision keeping everything in mind.
Shiva kumar, citing the alleged lack of consensus among organizations on the bandh call and two bandhs being called, said if the public does not cooperate, the bandh will have no significance. ”The government will not interfere in this.” Officials said the city police is taking all adequate security measures to ensure that no untoward incident takes place.