In the midst of a bandh organized by the umbrella organization of farmers’ groups and other organizations known as “Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti” to protest the delivery of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu by Karnataka, the Bengaluru Police detained at least 1,000 persons on Tuesday.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said that prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in place across the city and we have detained around 1,000 people across various police stations. According to existing restrictions and court orders, there is no permission for any bandh or procession in the city, Dayananda said.
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been locked over the issue of sharing the water of the Cauvery river for decades.
The recent flare-up has been the rejection of the Karnataka government’s petition by the Supreme Court against an order of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) asking Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from September 13.
The Karnataka government has maintained that it is not in a position to release the water as there are its own needs for drinking water and irrigation.