Members of the Kannada Rakshana Vedike group disrupted the screening of Tamil movies in Bangalore on Monday in reaction to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s stern warning on a water project. It looks like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are set for another showdown over water.
The two states are already entangled in a tussle over M Karunanidhi’s and even an award by a tribunal has failed to break the stalemate.
The KRV has been spearheading protests against Tamil Nadu’s proposal to draw water from the Hoganekkal Falls on the border between the two states to supply drinking water to its two drought-hit districts of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. The KRV and other political parties in Karnataka claim Hoganekkal itself is part of Karnataka and the project will consolidate Tamil Nadu’s hold on the area.
The Karunanidhi-led DMK government initially sought central intervention to restrain Karnataka from interfering with the project. On Sunday night, the CM said: “Whatever the protests, we will implement the project at all costs.” This prompted KRV leader Narayana Gowda to organise disruption of Tamil film screenings on Monday.