Vatal Nagaraj and others staging protest against Cauvery river water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamilnadu, in Bengaluru on Wednesday
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Ahead of the Karnataka bandh called on Friday, Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj engaged in a campaign urging the general public to support the Karnataka Bandh call and oppose the Karnataka government’ decision to release water to Tamil Nadu.
Mr. Nagaraj had not supported the Bengaluru bandh called on Tuesday by Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti which is led by Kuruburu Shantakumar. On Monday, after Mr. Nagaraj held a meeting on holding a Karnataka bandh on Friday, several organisations, including autorickshaw and cab unions, withdrew support.
Mr. Nagaraj has now turned his attention to garner support and ensure a successful bandh. He asked people to support the call to protect the Cauvery river and in the interest of farmers who are in distress.
Mr. Nagaraj talking to The Hindu said he took out an intense campaign visiting several malls across the city. “We received overwhelming response from everyone and the bandh will be successful. The auto, cab and hotel associations also extended the support for the call,” he said, adding that on the bandh day, protesters will block national highways across the state and will hold a massive rally from Town Hall to Freedom Park.