Shutdown in Karnataka in support of dam across Cauvery

A 12-hour dawn-to-dusk shutdown was underway across Karnataka on Saturday in support of building a reservoir dam across Cauvery river at Mekedatu for hydro-power and drinking water supply in the old Mysore region.

"The shutdown has been peaceful since morning, barring stray incidents of some activists forcing shops and small eateries to remain closed in a few residential areas in the city," a senior police official told IANS.

The state government's plan to build the dam at Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk, about 100 km from Bengaluru, is facing opposition from Tamil Nadu, the southern riparian state, which shares the river water as per the tribunal award.

The 800 km-long Cauvery river, which originates at Talakaveri near Kodagu in the rich biodiverse Western Ghats region, flows southeastwards to Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and finally joins the Bay of Bengal.

As the shutdown, called by about 70 Kannada organisations and regional parties, is being observed largely in the old Mysore region spanning Bengaluru, Ramanagara, Mandya and Mysore districts, normal life has come to a standstill, with schools, colleges, markets, hotels, malls, petrol bunks and movie theatres closed.

Though state-run transport corporations have not joined the shutdown, buses are not operating in the city or across the old Mysore region. Private buses, maxi-cabs, taxis and autorickshwas have also kept off the roads in support of the shutdown.

Train and flight services, however, remained unaffected though hundreds of passengers faced hardship in commuting from railway stations and the airport in the absence of public or private transport.

Emergency services, hospitals, medical shops, supply of milk, vegetables and essential commodities were exempted from the shutdown.

Hundreds of Kannada Vedike Parishad activists and members of the Kannada film fraternity, cadres of the Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha (KCVP), a state political outfit, and various social and cultural organisations are participating in the day-long demonstration at the Freedom Park in the city centre amid tight security.

About 10,000 people, including women, took out a mile-long procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in support of the project and criticised the Tamil Nadu government for opposing it without reason or jurisdiction.

"The Tamil Nadu government has no moral or legal right to oppose the project, as its location is within our state and is meant to generate power and supply drinking water to Bangalore urban and rural districts, including Kanakapura and Ramanagara," KCVP president Vatal Nagaraj asserted.

As Karnataka is releasing the river water to Tamil Nadu as per the tribunal award through the year, the neighbouring state has no say in how the water is utilised when flowing within the state's borders, they said.

Though the state government is yet to take environmental clearance to build the dam, it has made a budgetary allocation of Rs.25-crore to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for submission to the central government.

"We have invited global expression of interest for the DPR to which three firms have evinced interest so far," state Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil told reporters here.