Bandh successful: Vatal Nagaraj

Chandra Prabhu | NT

Bengaluru: The city was shut down for the second time this week due to the Karnataka Bandh called by various pro-kannada outifts on Friday. However the statewide bandh, which was led by the "Kannada Okkuta'' received mixed responses.

The state authorities had earlier confined the protests to be held only at Freedom park in Bengaluru. When News Trail reached the spot, more than 2000 people had staged a protest to oppose the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

Shocking among the protestors, only a few were farmers. Groups from different regions of the state had gathered and continued to express their dissatisfaction at the decision of the Karnataka government.

A march from the Town Hall to Freedom Park led by former Chamarajnagar MLA and activist Vatal Nagaraj was planned which was later curtailed by the police.

The police were deployed in huge numbers at Town Hall to keep the protestors from taking out the procession. Expressing protest, the activist conducted mock funeral of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and his effigies were burnt at the spot.

"Farmers in both the states depend on water for their agriculture, there is no doubt in it. But the Karnataka government should consult and consider the situations of the farmers in its own state before helping others," said Praveen Shetty, a member of Kannada Rakshana Vedike, told News Trail.

The city police detained and transport several protestors inlcuding Vatal Nagaraj who had assembled at Town Hall, to Freedom Park earlier in the day.

"The water that is being released belongs only to Karnataka and its people, and this protest condemns the actions of the Karnataka government," said Vatal Nagaraj.

He also called out the state Home Minister G Parameshwara, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for complying to send Cauvery water to the neighbouring state.

Innovative ways of protest

To grab attention of the media, the protestors at Freddom Park adapted various ways to attract the media.

A person took a bath in mineral water in Freedom Park and told media persons that it signified that if the State released water to Tamil Nadu, people will have to buy mineral water to even take a bath.

Another group staged a skit where a blindfolded man was seen desperately seeking water, even as another was seen spilling it on the street. According to sources, some Kannada activists ate green chillies on the Bengaluru Mysuru highway to express their “suffering.”

Vatal Nagaraj himself came out of his house wearing a burqa with an empty plastic water pot on his head to waiting cameras.

He said he was wearing a burqa because black signified protest, and the empty water pot signified women’s struggle for drinking water during the ongoing Cauvery struggle.

VATALA NAGARAJ WARNS OF ANOTHER

"On October 5, we will carry a March from Mysuru Bank Circle in Bengaluru to the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam in Mysuru," warned Vatal Nagaraj.

He said that the protest on October 5 will have more people supporting it. As per the protestors, the Friday's Bandh was successful with the public staying off roads and keeping the commercial spaces, schools and colleges closed.

However, Tamil Nadu continues to receive 3,000 TMCs of Cauvery water. It is said that the bandh on two days has caused a loss of around Rs 4000 crore to the economy of Karnataka.