The Karnataka High Court on Thursday, March 20, declined to halt the 'Cauvery Aarti' event scheduled for Friday at Sankey Tank. However, the court directed the state government and civic authorities to strictly adhere to legal provisions governing activities in water bodies.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind, instructed authorities to ensure compliance with Section 12 of the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (KTCDA) Act, 2014, which regulates activities in tanks. The bench also emphasised the importance of maintaining public order and managing crowd movement to uphold law and order during the event.
The court disposed of an interlocutory application (IA) related to the event after taking note of assurances from Advocate General (A-G) K Shashikiran Shetty and senior advocate Uday Holla, appearing for the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). They assured the court that the event would be conducted in accordance with legal requirements.
“The A-G for the BBMP and the BWSSB in one voice assured the court that the event proposed to be organised is in the nature of a cultural event. It is stated that aarti is not organised for the first time,” the court order said.
The Cauvery aarti, modelled on Varanasi’s Ganga aarti, is part of the Karnataka government’s efforts to promote water conservation. However, activists and political observers have raised concerns, questioning its impact on Sankey Tank’s ecosystem and its political undertones.
On March 20, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar told reporters that the Cauvery aarti is a government programme, not a political one. The government has planned to organise the Cauvery aarti at Sankey Tank, along with a water conservation campaign. “This will be purely a government programme, but some have moved the court. We will argue our case in court.”