Cauvery: Kannada outfits call for bandh on Oct 6

Kannada Okkuta, comprising several Kannada organisations, on Wednesday said it has called for a statewide bandh on October 6 over the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

As a prelude to the proposed shutdown, the Okkuta will lay siege to the Raj Bhavan after taking out a rally from Mysore Bank Circle in the City on October 1.

Leading the Okkuta, Vatal Nagaraj, former MLA and president of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha, said the Union government had been trying to pressure the Karnataka government to release water to Tamil Nadu.

“But we welcome Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s stance of not releasing water (to the neighbouring state). Karnataka is facing a severe water shortage. How do you expect it to release water?” he asked.

He said Kannadigas would take to the streets in protest if the government budged to the Centre’s pressure.

On the possibility of a solution to the issue in the Supreme Court, Nagaraj expressed confidence in the lawyers representing the State and the farmers from Karnataka, who are currently in Delhi to explain their side of the story.

Sa Ra Govindu, president of Akhila Karnataka Dr Rajkumar Abhimanigala Sangha, said the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) would also join the shutdown for a day on October 6. “The official announcement in this regard will be made by the KFCC president on September 27,” he said.

Dalit Sangharsha Samiti and Kannada Rakshana Vedike (Praveen Shetty faction) have also supported the bandh call.