Cauvery water row: Cops term Karnataka bandh illegal, impose ban orders in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: More than 2,000 organisations have supported Friday's dawn-to-dusk Karnataka bandh, demanding stoppage in the supply of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, even as police in Benglauru warned they will not allow what they termed as an illegal and unconstitutional protest.

Also See: Karnataka Bandh Live

With the bandh expected to disrupt normal life in Bengaluru, the authorities have declared a holiday for schools and colleges under both, BBMP and Bengaluru Urban jurisdictions.

Sounding out a warning for bandh supporters, city police referred to a Supreme Court ruling that said damages caused due to bandhs should be recovered from the organisers. However, pro-Kannada organisations that have called the bandh have dared the government to crack down on the protesters, even as police imposed 24-hour prohibitory orders in the city, starting from Thursday midnight.
Will take out march regardless: Nagaraj
Seeking support for the bandh, pro-Kannada outfits, led by Vatal Nagaraj, on Thursday crisscrossed CBD, appealing to stakeholders to shut down their activities on Friday. “We will take out a peaceful protest march from Town Hall Circle to Freedom Park. We won’t disturb anybody and have requested city police to withdraw the prohibitory orders (section 144 of CrPC). Regardless of the situation, we’ll take out the protest march,” Nagaraj said. Several key organisations, including Karnataka Hotels Association, Karnataka Film Exhibitors Association, Traders Association of Bengaluru, and industry bodies, have supported the bandh call.

The Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samithi (KJSS) has decided to stage protests and block all state and national highways across Karnataka from 11 am to 1 pm on Friday, alleging that the government had failed to comply with the five demands they had placed before it during Tuesday’s bandh.

BMTC, Metro to run
State-owned bus transporters BMTC and KSRTC, and BMRCL, that operates Namma Metro, said their services will run as usual on Friday. However, autorickshaws and app-based taxis and cabs will be unavailable.
School, college holiday
“Keeping in mind the safety of students, we have decided to declare a holiday,” KA Dayananda, DC, Bengaluru Urban, said. Several universities, including BU and BCU, have deferred their exams scheduled for the day. While BCU has rescheduled its exams to October 4, BU has planned to hold them on September 30.

Flyers, take note
Domestic carrier IndiGo sent out a note to its passengers saying, “Travel time to Bengaluru airport may take longer than normal due to the bandh on Friday. We recommend arriving at least 2.5 hours before domestic and 3.5 hours before international departures.” Other carriers have also have sent out similar alerts to flyers


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