BENGALURU: The Federation of Kannada organisations is divided over the call for a bandh on Thursday to protest the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) direction to Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.While federation president Vatal Nagaraj remains firm on the bandh, several organisations affiliated with the federation have decided not to support a total shutdown, though they have extended their “moral support” to Nagaraj’s protest.“We support Vatal Nagaraj’s struggle, but under tomorrow’s circumstances, we are not in a position to support the bandh,” Praveen Shetty, who heads one of the factions of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, told news agency PTI.As per PTI sources in the state transport department, employee associations of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) have not backed the bandh. Private bus associations, transporters and autorickshaw associations have also distanced themselves from the call.Street vendors are expected to carry on with their business as usual, while government and private schools will also function normally, as most organisations have limited their support to the protest.However, Raitha Hitarakshana Samithi and some other farmers’ organisations have extended their support to the bandh.“We support the strike because injustice has been meted out to Karnataka,” Sunanda of Raitha Hitarakshana Samithi told PTI.Vatal Nagaraj and organisations supporting him are protesting against the CWMA’s order directing Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. The release began on Wednesday morning.The Karnataka government has argued that the state’s prevailing situation does not permit the release of such a large quantity of water, citing deficient rainfall, particularly in the Cauvery basin.The divided response among Kannada organisations is likely to limit the impact of Thursday’s bandh, with several key transport and other groups choosing not to participate while continuing to express support for the Cauvery cause.(With agency inputs)
