A day after the violence unfolded in India’s IT capital Bengaluru, the Karnataka chief minister has come out with a video appeal to the people.
In the video that was uploaded on the CM’s Facebook page on Tuesday morning, the chief minister said:
“The Cauvery issue caused injustice every time. It has hurt every Kannadiga. We identify ourselves with the language we speak and the water we drink, but at the same time we must maintain peace. There have been attacks on Kannadigas and Kannadiga owned hotels in Tamil Nadu. Tamilians living in Karnataka have also been attacked in yesterday’s violence. I strongly condemn this. The government will take strict action against anyone who indulges in this kind of violence.”
Within a few hours of the Supreme Court revising its order while hearing Karnataka’s application, several parts of southern Karnataka witnessed protests and isolated instances of arson, forcing a partial shutdown of some services. One person was also reported dead in police firing.
Following Karnataka’s application, the Supreme Court modified its order and directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water up to September 20. The earlier order on September 5 had directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu for 10 days up till September 16.
45 buses belonging to private bus operator KPN travels were torched in Bengaluru. The buses were stationed at the depot in Byataranyapura police station limits in Nayandahalli and were set ablaze by miscreants.