• By Abhirupa Kundu
  • Tue, 26 Sep 2023 10:53 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Bengaluru Bandh: Several organisations and farmer bodies have called the "Bengaluru Bandh" on Tuesday to protest against an order by the  Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. In view of the protest a public holiday for all schools and colleges have been declared in the city, the Bengaluru Urban District Collector KA Dayanand said. The Bengaluru police said that no protest or procession will be allowed and the traffic will move normally. 

However, despite the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) being operational, the normal functioning of public services was disrupted with fewer people venturing out. 

"We have made adequate bandobast...as per the order of the commissioner, no protest or procession is allowed...traffic is normal," DCP central Bengaluru Shekar T Tekkannavar said. 

Visuals from the Majestic BMTC Bus stop in the city showed few passengers onboard in the buses. "As bandh has been called, no commuters are seen in Kempegowda bus stop which is usually one of the busiest bus stops in the state," Manju, a bus conductor said, reported news agency ANI. 

Security forces have been deployed in Bengaluru's Whitefield and Cottonpet to maintain law and order. Reportedly all shops except those providing essential services have been closed. 

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The shutdown has been primarily called by the Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti, an umbrella outfit of farmers' associations and other organisations led by farmer leader Kuruburu Shanthakumar. It has announced a bandh in the city from  6 am to 6 pm on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, bus services from Tamil Nadu towards Karnataka were disrupted amid the Bengaluru bandh. Several buses from Tamil Nadu have been stopped at Zuzuvadi in Krishnagiri district of the state.

A passenger travelling from Hosur in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district said that people were struggling due to the strike in Karnataka. "Several IT industries are there, so all the people who are workers there are facing problems," he said.

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