LIVE BLOG - Karnataka Bandh: Protester Dies During Protest Rally

LIVE BLOG

3:00 PM: A protester died of cardiac arrest during the protest rally in Mysore. Gowranna (45) was an employee of reserve Bank of India, reported News9.

2:00 PM: Foreign Minister SM Krishna writes to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene and stop further release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. He asked him to seek CWC report to assess the situation in both the states. 

1:50 PM: Protestors vent their anger on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and some resorted to burning her pictures.

1:30 PM: Karnataka has moved the Supreme Court to squash the order of Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to release water to Tamil Nadu, arguing that the state is facing water shortage this year. The apex court will hear the petition on Monday.

1:20 PM: President of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, Vatal Nagaraj, arrested at Cubbon Park Police Station. He was taking part in the protest against the order of the CRA to release water to Tamil Nadu.

1:00 PM: Actor Ambareesh meets Governor HR Bhardwaj and submits a memorandum on behalf of KFCC, seeking the government to stop release of water to Tamil Nadu.

12:30 PM: Cauvery Hitaraskahana Hoarata Samiti chief and former MP G Made Gowda said that they will continue protest till Cauvery River Authority (CRA) review its order to release water. He also demanded CM Jagadish Shettar's resignation.

12:00 PM: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Yeddyurappa to continue dharna till Monday, demanding the government to stop release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

11:00 PM: Vehicles going to Bangalore International Airport (BIA) were halted. Food and shelter arrangement provided to the stranded people. 

10:00 AM: Activists stop vehicles from entering Karnataka state and several trains were stopped.

9:35 AM: Thoothukudi Express stopped near Ramanagara as a precautionary measure. The train is bound for Mysore.

9:20 AM: Protesters pelted stones at BMTC buses near Silk Board junction in Bangalore. 15 buses were reportedly damaged.

8:10 AM: Some BMTC buses are operating in Bangalore city but there very few commuters as people are scared to travel due to the bandh. Protesters resort to forcing shops to shut down and deflate tyres of commercial vehicles plying on the road.

8:00 AM: Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has begun protest. He has been taking part in the protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

7:30 AM: Farmers are on a hunger strike near Mandya District Commissioner's office. They are demanding the government to stop the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

7:00 AM: FIR filed against hundreds of farmers who laid siege Krishna Raja Sagar Dam (KRS) Dam. 

Karnataka Bandh: Normal Life, Business Establishments Hit Hard 

Karnataka state has come to a standstill on Saturday as state-wide bandh initiated by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) protesting the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu has hit the normal life of the people and shut down business establishments and educational institutions across the state.

KRV and various organizations including politicians and celebrities staged protests in the state capital Bangalore on Thursday and Friday demanding the government to stop release of water to neighbouring state Tamil Nadu.

Thousands of protestors staged protest march from National College to Freedom Park in Bangalore on Friday. Several politicians including former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and celebrities like Ambarish and Prem took part in the protest.

The protest march on Friday was peaceful though business establishments in some parts of Bangalore were affected and traffic thrown out of gear for a few hours. However, the Karnataka Bandh on Saturday is likely to hit the normal life of the public hard and affect transportation across the state.

Several organizations have come forward in support of the state-wide bandh on Friday. The day will be dull as the theatre owners will not screen movies and the cable operators have decided to shut entertainment channels though news channels will be spared. Karnataka Milk Federation have decided not to supply milk after 8:00 am and advocates have lent their support the bandh.

1800 Karnataka Unaided Schools Management Association (KUSMA) schools and other educational institutions across the state will be closed on Saturday owing to bandh. LPG cylinder distributors have decided not to supply gas cylinders on the day and oil pumps will be shut in support of the bandh.

The Karnataka government has imposed prohibitory orders in a one kilometre radius around the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam and employed Rapid Action Force, a specialised police force, after more than 5,000 Karnataka activists laid siege of the dam on Wednesday.

Karnataka Governor HR Bhardwaj expressed his support for Karnataka farmers but said that the state won't benefit from such protest. He said "we should first respect the law."

Karnataka has been releasing 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu since Sunday following a directive from the Supreme Court to do so till Oct 15.

Tamil Nadu is facing severe shortage of irrigation water due to less rainfall this year, but farmers in Karnataka said that release of water would affect irrigation in their own state.

Central Water Commission (CWC) team led by K C Jacob, chief engineer, inspected the Cauvery basin areas, Srirangapatna and Pandavapura taluks on Friday to assess the situation. The Cauvery River Authority (CRA) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will decide the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu state based on the report of the CWC.