Normal life is expected to be disrupted on Tuesday as the Opposition BJP and JDS have pledged support to the bandh call, while the ruling Congress party’s resistance seems only symbolic. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has already said protests were part and parcel of democracy and the government would not try to stop them.
Some trader organisations have also expressed their support.
There were efforts by a section of Kannada outfits to drop Tuesday’s bandh, and instead go for a state-wide bandh on Sep 29 (Friday), but majority of farmer outfits have stuck to their Tuesday’s bandh call. Veteran Kannada activist and former MLA Vatal Nagaraj has called for a meeting in Bengaluru on Monday to chalk out the programme.
The Kannada organisations have urged the tech, BPO and biotech industries, manufacturing units, offices, shops and establishments, and educational institutions to participate in the bandh and assert the State’s right over Cauvery as continued release of water to Tamil Nadu would create a grave drinking water crisis in Bengaluru and other districts.
Better clarity on how tech companies and others will respond is expected to be available on Monday. Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA), an organisation of tech companies, said it was in support of the Cauvery cause. The Association, however, has not issued any advisory to its member companies about the bandh. “We would like to encourage our member companies to evaluate the situation, considering potential business implications. We recommend that individual companies make decisions that align with the best interests of their employees, operations, and business objectives,” Krishna Kumar Gowda, general manager at the Association, said. Karnataka is battling a crisis after the Supreme Court, last Thursday, refused to interfere with the orders of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
Mandya and Maddur observed a bandh on Saturday, while protestors held demonstrations and blocked traffic at the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border of Attibele, near Bengaluru.
