State to shut down for Cauvery on Sept 9

'Don't release water to TN, even if it is contempt of court

Several pro-Kannada and farmer organisations have called for a Karnataka bandh on September 9, to protest against the order of the Supreme Court, directing the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Pro-Kannada organisations under the banner Kannada Okkuta held a meeting on Monday in Bengaluru, soon after the apex court issued the directive to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water over the next 10 days to Tamil Nadu.

“Injustice has been meted out to the state. When we do not have water for drinking purposes, asking us to release water for Samba crop is impractical and unfair,” Okkuta president Vatal Nagaraj said.

He said the government should not release water to Tamil Nadu even if it amounts to contempt of court. “The interest of our farmers should be protected. The consequence of not abiding by the court order can be dealt with later. We understand that frequent bandh calls are a huge inconvenience to the public. But we have no alternative to register our protest,” he said.

Farmers’ leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar said the farmers’ unions will extend total support to the bandh.

Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has also extended support to the bandh call. KFCC president Sa Ra Govindu, who was present at the meeting, said film shootings will be suspended for the day and theatres will remain closed.