Bengaluru burns in Cauvery war

BENGALURU/CHENNAI: A man was killed and another wounded in police firing in India’s IT capital Bengaluru on Monday as the Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka

BENGALURU/CHENNAI: A man was killed and another wounded in police firing in India’s IT capital Bengaluru on Monday as the Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu turned violent.

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The violence started after the Supreme Court turned down Karnataka’s plea to temporarily stop the release of Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Police fired when a mob tried to attack a patrol car at Hegganahalli in Bengaluru city, where mobs burnt vehicles and vandalized shops, while protesters in Tamil Nadu retaliated by targeting Kannadiga people and businesses in their state.

Rioters set ablaze at least 30 buses bearing Tamil Nadu licence plates at a depot in Bengaluru while trucks were attacked in Mandya, Mysuru, Chitradurga and Dharwad districts. More than 200 people were arrested so far.

As television footage showed flames leaping from burnt-out vehicles in Bengaluru, fears of the violence-hit IT hub losing international business began to arise.

Bengaluru is home to top Indian IT companies such as Infosys Ltd, Wipro Ltd and Mphasis as well as offices of several multinational companies like Samsung Electronics.

Police clamped prohibitory orders in the evening, barring the assembly of four or more persons, while private and office cars remained off the roads in the city. Authorities shut down schools and the metro network was temporarily suspended.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh rang up the chief ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and assured them central assistance.

The Centre rushed 10 companies or about 1,000 personnel of the special anti-riot paramilitary force, RAF, to Karnataka. If the need arises, contingents will be deployed in Tamil Nadu too.

Chief ministers S Siddaramaiah of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu’s J Jayalalithaa wrote to each other, appealing for protection to people from their states caught in the crossfire.

“Hotels and properties belonging to Tamils in Karnataka are being attacked and damaged. This is an alarming situation and is causing considerable anxiety,” Jayalalithaa said.

On the streets, passion ran high as Kannadiga groups targeted Tamil speakers. Even journalist were not spared as India Today deputy editor Rohini Swamy and video journalist Madhu Y were allegedly assaulted when they reporting the violence. Crowds of people shouting slogans against the court order and Tamil Nadu marched along major roads in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mandya. They forced shopkeepers to down shutters.

Hundreds of policemen fanned across the Tamil-majority areas in Bengaluru, but struggled to contain the protests.

The Cauvery, which originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu, has been the source of a bitter dispute as farmers in both states depend on the river to irrigate their crops. A British-era treaty governs water sharing between the two states but Karnataka says the award is unfair and demands a tripling of its share.

(with inputs from agencies)