Parts Of Bengaluru are under curfew after Monday's violence over Supreme Court's Cauvery order (AP photo)
Highlights
- Violence and arson in Bengaluru on Monday over court's Cauvery order
- Police say Bengaluru peaceful, warn against rumours on WhatsApp
- Protests over court asking Karnataka to share more Cauvery river water
A day after violence and arson in Karnataka over the Cauvery river water dispute with Tamil Nadu, airlines have decided to waive cancellation and rescheduling charges of flights to Bengaluru. After 2 days of being shut, some schools in the city will re-open on Wednesday.
Here are the latest developments in this big story:
In IT hub Bengaluru, where more than 350 people have been arrested for vandalism, the government has decided to keep schools in non-curfew bound areas open on Wednesday. Some private schools will remain closed.
Domestic airlines including national carrier Air India and private carriers - Indigo, Vistara, Jet Airways - have announced that they would waive flight cancellation/ rescheduling changes for flights to Bengaluru for a specified period.
Violence, which may potentially create law and order problem. Earlier, in tweets, the police warned people against rumours. "Please do not blindly believe in messages circulating on WhatsApp," read a tweet.
The Prime Minister has been asked by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene. Earlier today, PM Modi said the situation is "distressful" and added that breaking the law is not a "viable alternative" since it was causing loss to the poor.
Parts of Bengaluru, where buses were burnt and shops were damaged on Monday, are still under curfew. The largescale protests began after the Supreme Court asked Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to neighbour Tamil Nadu.
The situation escalated on Monday after a court ruling indicated that Karnataka has to yield more water than it was asked to last week. Karnataka says it does not have enough water for farming or drinking. But Tamil Nadu has told the court its farmers will face a huge crisis without more water.
"The order is hard to follow but we'll still follow the Supreme Court order," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, urging people not to take law into their hands. He assured drinking water to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and villages of the Cauvery river basin till June next year.
The protests have affected tech companies. Flipkart and Amazon said their operations had been impacted and TeamLease feared "mammoth losses".
In tweets this morning, the police warned people against rumours. "Please do not blindly believe in messages circulating on WhatsApp," said one tweet. "Bengaluru situation is totally calm, strict action will be taken against vandals/miscreants," said another.
The streets were deserted all day today partly because of Eid. Buses were off the roads and resumed only in the evening. The Bengaluru metro services had also been stopped as a precautionary measure.
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