The release of the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu has stirred trouble in Karnataka as an umbrella union of farmers called for a Bengaluru bandh on Tuesday and Friday. The police have imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) across the city and prohibited the gathering of more than five people.The bandh is also said to have received support from many organisations and institutes, according to the organisers of this protest.Bengaluru Bandh tomorrow: Section 144 to be imposed, schools and colleges shutRead @ANI Story | https://t.co/kwxZpvXP2N#Karnataka #BengaluruBandh #Cauvery pic.twitter.com/WlZjoDLOmk— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) September 25, 2023Bengaluru Bandh Day 1The bandh on Tuesday will become effective from morning 6 a.m. under the aegis of Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti, an umbrella outfit of farmers unions. A protest rally is also scheduled to be held in the capital city on Tuesday.“Tomorrow we have called for a bandh from 6 am to 6 pm. We will start a procession from the Town Hall to Freedom Park. And we will submit a memorandum to the government of India,” Kurbur Shanthakumar, a farmer union leader, said.He further said that if there is “no proper response”, they “will decide on a further course of action, as per media reports.Who is in support of this protestAccording to the statements of Shanthakumar, the farmers union has also received support for the protest from several educational institutions, market vendors, and transporters.The Bengaluru Police has, however, said that there has been no notice for the bandh and asked the organisers to limit the protest to the Freedom Park area of the city. Section 144 has also been in effect since midnight.Due to this bandh most of the educational institutes including schools and colleges have declared a holiday in Karnataka. KSRTC Staff and the Workers Federation have extended their support and have urged the transport corporation staff to refrain from services during the bandh. Apart from this, the Auto-taxi union have also come forward in support of this protest.However, the Ola-Uber drivers association and hotel owners association have retracted their support from this protest and said that they will not be supporting tomorrows Bengaluru band.Friday BandhActivist and MLA Vatal Nagaraj will lead another bandh on Friday, (September 29). This state-wide bandh will be held under the banner of a pro-Kannada organisation Kannada Okkuta.“What we have called is Akhanda Karnataka bandh (entire Karnataka bandh) on September 29. It will be observed across the state without leaving any district. Our fight is for the entire Karnataka. Kannada Okkuta has organised more than 50 bandhs in the whole state so far,” Nagaraj said.Chief Ministers remarkThe Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah said on Monday that the government will not curtail the protests taking place on Tuesday on the Cauvery River issue. He has, however, urged the organisers to maintain peace throughout the rally.“In a democracy, we (the government) will not curtail protests, but BJP and JD(S) are trying to do politics on the issue,” the Chief Minister said.Two politicail parties including the BJP and JD(S) have announced their support for the Bengaluru bandh and Fridays shutdown
