Cauvery row: Outfits call for Bengaluru bandh on September 26, transport services to be hit

The ongoing row over Cauvery water was triggered by the drought conditions in the state after the Supreme Court recently upheld the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s directions to release 5,000 cusecs of water to downstream Tamil Nadu till September 27.

A bandh was observed in parts of Mandya – primarily an agrarian district dependent on Cauvery water – on September 11 evoking a good response.

A massive rally is also planned on Tuesday from Town Hall to Freedom Park. The organisers are also expected to take a call on extending the bandh state-wide.

BJP parliamentary panel member and former chief minister B S Yediyurappa told reporters Sunday that the party would extend support to all agitations held over Cauvery water.

The protests come amidst low water levels in four reservoirs of the Cauvery basin. Releasing water to Tamil Nadu at such a juncture, protesters argue, would threaten standing crops apart from causing drinking water issues in Bengaluru and other districts of South Karnataka.

Currently, Krishanarajasagar (KRS) reservoir holds 20.48 TMC of water – which is 41 per cent of its full capacity. Kabini held 14.28 TMC, Hemavathy 17.94 TMC and Harangi had 8.07 TMC of water. KRS is the largest of the four reservoirs in Karnataka’s Cauvery basin.

This is the second bandh call in Bengaluru this month. On September 11, private bus operators, autorickshaw and cab unions had held a bandh demanding the government to fulfil several of their demands.