Bengaluru, September 26, 2023 (PPI-OT): The Bengaluru Police arrested at least 1,000 people on Tuesday amid the bandh (shutdown) called by ‘Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti’, an amalgam of farmers’ associations and other organizations, to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu by Karnataka.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said, “Prohibitory orders under Section 144 are in place across the city and we have detained around 1,000 people across various police stations.” As per the existing restrictions and court orders, there is no permission for any shutdown or procession in the city, he said.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been locked over the issue of sharing the water of the Cauvery River for decades. The recent flare-up has been the rejection of the Karnataka government’s petition by the Indian Supreme Court against an order of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) asking Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from September 13. The Karnataka government has maintained that it is not in a position to release the water as there are its own needs for drinking water and irrigation.

Bengaluru Police imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) from midnight of Monday to midnight of Tuesday in the wake of the shutdown. Also, the police have not provided any permission for processions in the city.

Bengaluru airport issued an advisory, asking the passengers to “plan their journeys accordingly” in view of the Bengaluru bandh.

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