Cauvery bandh forces IT capital to log off

Bangalore, Feb 12 (UNI) Most parts of Karnataka came to a grinding halt as the Statewide bandh call given by various organisations to protest the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal evoked a near total response today.

Barring minor incidents of stone pelting, road and rail blockades and widespread protests, the bandh passed off peacefully. The protests were intense in the Cauvery basin districts of Mandya, Mysore and Chamarajanagar as well as the State capital, which mainly depended on river Cauvery for its drinking water supplies. In some pockets of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Haveri districts, the bandh evoked moderate response.

The bandh had its impact on the Legislature session too, with both the upper and lower houses adjourning without transacting any business following demand from several members. The Congress members boycotted proceedings in both the Houses.

Educational institutions were declared a holiday across the State. Shops, business establishments and companies, including multinational IT firms, downed their shutters. Public and private bus services did not operate their services and taxis and autorickshaws remained totally off the roads in the basin districts and were thin in other parts of the State. Trains were stopped in many places, but the determined railway authorities kept the services going. Air services were also affected, with nine flights being cancelled.

Director General of Police K R Srinivasan told UNI that barring an incident of miscreants torching 13 motor cycles outside the SWR Railway Workshop in Mysore, the bandh passed off peacefully in the entire State. The situation was well under control in the Cauvery basin areas. Totally, 400 people who indulged in trouble making were detained outside Bangalore in the State, and they would be released later, he said.

In an unprecedented security cover, 160 platoons of security personnel, including RAF, RPF, CRPF, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala police, reserve police, home guards, besides the State police force had been deployed across the State. In Bangalore alone, 20,000 policemen kept guard.

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