Cauvery row: Flights hit, school shut in Karnataka
The Karnataka Police have detained over 50 members of pro-Kannada organisations protesting over the Cauvery River water dispute near Bengaluru to maintain law and order amid the state-wide Bandh call.
“We have made proper arrangements as a bandh has been called by several pro-Kannada organisations. More than 50 people from the organisations have been taken into custody… We have sufficient staff and we will make sure nothing goes wrong,” Additional Superintendent of Police of Bengaluru Rural Mallikarjun Baladandi told news agency ANI.
In Chikkamangalur, protesters entered petrol bunks in bikes and protested, they also burnt the effigy of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. In Bengaluru, protesters were detained and brought to Freedom Park. In Mandya, protesters rolled on roads in protest.
44 flights scheduled to take off and land at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru early on Friday have been cancelled — 22 of these were incoming and 22 outgoing. Airport authorities have said it was due to operational reasons, and passengers were intimated within time. However, sources said cancellations happened due to the Karnataka Bandh as many passengers had cancelled their tickets.
‘Kannada Okkuta’ – a blanket organisation of pro-Kannada groups on Friday announced a Karnataka bandh opposing an order directing the Karnataka government to release Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. This comes two days after observing the Bengaluru bandh which received mixed responses.