By IANS,
Bangalore: Karnataka, where life was crippled Sep 20 as part of nation-wide shutdown over the central government’s economic measures, is in for another shutdown Oct 6 over Cauvery water sharing with Tamil Nadu.
Several Kannada organizations have called for the shutdown to protest Sep 19 directive of Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to Karnataka for releasing 9,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu till Oct 15.
The call, given Friday by the Kannada organizations under the banner of ‘Kannada Okkuta’ (federation), received the backing of the Kannada film industry Saturday.
Addressing farmers and other people protesting against the CRA directive at Mandya, about 80 km from Bangalore, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president K.V. Chandrashekhar pledged the film industry’s support for the Oct 6 shutdown.
Screening of films and all film-related activities would be shut Oct 6, he said.
Mandya is one of the six Cauvery basin districts in Karnataka and the centre of agitations whenever the dispute over Cauvery water sharing with Tamil Nadu flares up.
Karnataka Friday petitioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who as head of the CRA directed the release of 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, to rescind the decision.
Farmers and Kannada activists have been daily holding demonstrations in Mandya and neighbouring Mysore as well as in Bangalore for the last 10 days against Tamil Nadu demand for water when Karnataka was facing its worst drought in 40 years.
The agitators at Mandya have threatened to stop Cauvery water supply to Bangalore if Bangaloreans do not support the agitation.
Bangalore, with a population of over eight million, gets around 900 MLD (million litres daily) from Cauvery while the need is for 1,350 MLD. The shortage is met mostly from two water bodies around Bangalore and thousands of borewells in the city.