In a major development, the Supreme Court on Monday modified its previous ruling on sharing of Cauvery river water and directed the Karnataka government to release 12,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily till September 20. However, massive protests erupted in Karnataka on Monday, especially on the streets of Bengaluru and Mysuru after the order by the apex court.
On Karnataka’s petition, the court modified an earlier order of 15000 cusecs and said the state has to release 12000 cusecs river water to Tamil Nadu but for five more days. Karnataka, which will end up giving more water after the modified order, urged the court to reconsider but its request was rejected.
In the plea, Karnataka had said there was “huge public pressure” and the state police, with great difficulty, have been able to prevent attempts to damage public property.
The application said that people, particularly farmers in the districts of Mysuru, Hassan, Mandya and Bengaluru, have been squatting on the roads and streets, affecting the IT industry in the state capital which earns huge revenue by way of income tax, service tax, and foreign exchange of USD 60 billion for the country.
In Tamil Nadu, an unidentified group hurled petrol bombs at New Woodlands Hotel in Chennai in the early hours of Monday. In Rameswaram, members of three Tamil outfits damaged windscreens and glass panes of five Karnataka registered vehicles.
In response to that, a truck bearing Tamil Nadu registration number was pelted with stones in Chamarajanagar, Karnataka. One person has been arrested in this connection. In another incident, Tamil residents were reportedly attacked in Pandavapura and their six shops destroyed.
Karnataka’s border with Tamil Nadu along Chamarajanagar district has been sealed in the wake of fresh disturbances reported in the Cauvery basin districts. Tamil residents attacked in Pandavapura and their six shops attacked and destroyed.
Karnataka has stopped bus services to Tamil Nadu and police jeeps were positioned along the border to warn vehicles against entering that state.
A young man – reported to be Tamil – was attacked and humiliated in Bengaluru by a group allegedly over his comments on social media on the Cauvery dispute. In a video of the attack that went viral, the engineering student was slapped and kicked by the men. The police suspect he was attacked after his post on Facebook mocking Kannada actors was widely circulated.
