Cauvery Conflict: Bandh in Bangalore to spoil weekend fun

Bangalore, Oct 5: It is true that

river is an emotive issue for people of Karnataka. But Bangaloreans are not game to observe

to protest the sharing of Cauvery river water with neighbouring state of

.

Various Kannada organisations have called a state bandh on Saturday, Oct 6. The bandh has been called to protest against the Supreme Court order to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

Bangaloreans, mostly employed in various IT companies spread across the city, feel that observing a bandh is not going to solve the issue. They say that a bandh causes huge economic loss. Moreover, Bangaloreans cherish their weekend as most of the private companies remain closed on Saturday and Sunday. The city has the culture of slogging hard throughout the weekdays and enjoy the weekend. And in this case, if a bandh is in place, weekend revellers have no other option but to sit at home.

"Calling a bandh is not going to solve the issue. Politicians and bureaucrats of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu should sit together and solve the problem. Bandhs only causes huge losses to exchequers' money," said Harish TN, a techie.

The bandh is likely to be observed fully in the city. Autorickshaws cutting across various unions will remain off the road. Even markets, both retail and wholesale shops will keep their shutters down. Schools and colleges are also likely to remain closed as vehicular movement will be very limited on the roads. Government offices will also see minimal attendance. Buses which form the lifeline of Bangalore are also likely to stay away from roads if any untoward incident happens, informs an official of BMTC bus.

Marches and rallies are underway on Friday at various parts of the city to protest against sharing of Cauvery river water with Tamil Nadu. Vehicular movements across the city have been affected by the protest marches.

Karnataka has been releasing water from Krishna Raja Sagar and Kabini dams to ensure flow of 9,000 cusecs [Cusec is a measure of flow rate and is informal shorthand for cubic feet per second (1 cusecs = 28.317 litres per second)] of water to the neighbouring state since Sunday.

As per the Supreme Court order, Karnataka has to release water from Cauvery to its neighbouring state daily till Oct 15.

The Supreme Court order has not been taken lightly by the people of the state. Vehicular movements and train services between Bangalore and Mysore have been disrupted due to protests in Karnataka over Cauvery issue.

The BJP government in Karnataka has come under severe criticism for agreeing to release water.

The state government on Thursday moved the apex court seeking a stay on the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) order to release 9,000 cusecs of water to TN daily. Two central teams reached Karnataka and TN to assess water levels.

The CRA is chaired by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

OneIndia News