Karnataka bandh today: Section 144 imposed in Mandya district; schools, colleges shut

Two days after Bengaluru witnessed a partial shutdown over the Cauvery river water dispute with Tamil Nadu, a state-wide bandh has been called in Karnataka on Friday.

The bandh, called by the ‘Kannada Okkuta’ – a blanket organisation of pro-Kannada groups – will be in effect for 12 hours starting from 6 am to 6 pm.

What is the Cauvery river water issue?
The Cauvery river water dispute between the two southern states – Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – has been going on for decades. The issue flared up recently after an order from the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) asking Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

According to the Karnataka government, they are in no position to release the water since the lower rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area, including regions in Kerala, resulted in insufficient inflow into its reservoirs. However, the Tamil Nadu government is saying that the river is a shared resource and it cannot be deprived of its share.

Notably, the Cauvery river originates in the Karnataka region of Talakaveri and flows through Tamil Nadu before entering the Bay of Bengal.