KRISHNAGIRI: Vehicular movement between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka was stopped due to the statewide ‘bandh’ over the Mahadayi river water issue in that state.
The Tamil Nadu state transport corporation (TNSTC) stopped its services since early Thursday, due to the ‘bandh’ observed in the neighbouring state.
Other private vehicles were also stopped by the Krishnagiri policemen posted at Zuzuwadi, on the state border on Tamil Nadu side, to prevent possible untoward incidents if vehicles move into Karnataka during the ‘bandh’ hours.
The dawn-to-dusk ‘bandh’, affecting normal life in the state border in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, was called by the pro-Kannada organisation in protest against Goa over the Mahadayi water row.
A fringe group who are the members of the ‘Kannada Jagurti Vedika’ and ‘Kannada rakshana vedika’ staged a protest at Attibelle, near Hosur.
The protesting mob came in a rally from the Attibelle bus stand and reached the concrete arch constructed by Karnataka at the place to mark the inter-state border.
Kannada Jagurti Vedika president K. Manjunath Deva presided over the protest. The mob kept the burning tyres in the middle of the Chennai-Bengaluru national highway before shouting slogans against Goa’s BJP chief minister Manohar Parikar.
Manjunath Deva, after the protest, explained to reporters why the statewide bandh was called.
He said “Mahadayi originates in Belgaum district of our state and enters Goa after travelling 35-km in Karnataka region. It travels another 52-km before joining the Arabian Sea in the lower riparian state.”
“We need 7.56 tmcft of water from Mahadayi for the drinking water requirement of our people living in the places bordering Maharashtra state,” Manjunatha said.
The pro-kannada leader added, “our plan to divert water from Mahadayi was stalled because of objections raised by Goa’s BJP Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar who claims that over 60K trees in the 700 hectares of forest area will be lost if Karnataka was allowed to divert the water.”
