Mahadayi dispute: 2 bandhs in 11 days to hit Bengaluru

HUBBALLI/BENGALURU: Pro-Kannada organizations and farmers have called for two bandhs in Karnataka over the next two weeks, in a bid to get the Mahadayi river dispute resolved.
While the January 25 bandh will be observed statewide, another bandh will be organized in Bengaluru on February 4 to coincide with the visit of PM Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to attend the state BJP Parivarthana rally in the city.The intent: To pressure Narendra Modi to intervene in the river dispute.
In Hubballi, Kannada Okkuta president Vatal Nagaraj faced the ire of Mahadayi and Kannada activists for not taking them into confidence when he gave a call for a Karnataka bandh on January 25.

Vatal, who wished to express his solidarity with the farmers of North Karnataka, was in Hubballi to brief the local media about the proposed bandh to mark their protest against the delay in solving the Mahadayi crisis. However, midway into the conference, members of the Kalasa-Banduri Samanvaya Samiti, Hubballi, and Kannada activists barged into the hall and created a ruckus.
Jan 25 bandh is not relevant: Activists
Kannada activists Amrut Ijari, Mahesh Pattar, Shekaraiah Hiremath and several others expressed anger and questioned Nagaraj: “Did you take our consent before giving a bandh call on January 25? We will not support it. Our intention of calling a bandh on January 27 was to pressure PM Modi to intervene in the Mahadayi issue, as he was to visit the state on January 28. Frequent bandhs are causing a lot of inconvenience to the public, who are now upset.”
The Kannada organisations have also decided to show black flag to PM Modi when he visits Karnataka on January 28 for the concluding ceremony of BJP's Nava Karnataka Parivarthana Yatra,a state-wide programme against the Congress government.
Modi cancelled his earlier scheduled visit to Bengaluru on January 28, citing his unavailability due to impending central government budget meetings, and fixed February 4 as the date to take part in the concluding event of the state BJP's Parivarthana rally at Palace Grounds in the city.
Kannada activists said with the PM postponing his visit to Bengaluru, a bandh on January 25 isn’t relevant. Not ready to call off the January 25 bandh, Vatal nonetheless gave in to the demands of locals and added that Kannada activists will, in fact, support and call for another bandh on February 4. He said: “The all-Karnataka bandh will be observed on January 25, to pressure all political parties to solve the Mahadayi issue at the earliest. On February 4, a bandh will be observed only in Bengaluru to pressure PM Modi to intervene in the dispute.”
On February 4, thousands of activists and farmers from North Karnataka are due to make their way to Bengaluru to gherao Modi.