"We have called a Bandh in Mandya today. We may start agitation throughout the state."
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa on Saturday accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of having released Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu "without the Supreme Court decision".
Mr Yediyurappa said BJP is holding agitation throughout the state over the Cauvery water issue saying that Mysuru and Bengaluru are facing scarcity of drinking water.
"They (the Congress government in Karnataka) have released Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu without the Supreme Court decision. We have called a Bandh in Mandya today. We may start agitation throughout the state, particularly in Bengaluru. There is no drinking water for Mysuru and Bengaluru that's why we are protesting," Mr Yediyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru
Meanwhile, speaking on the Cauvery water-sharing row, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said that the state government is there to protect the interest of farmers.
Speaking to reporters here in Karnataka's Bengaluru, Mr Shivakumar said, "We are there to protect the interest of the farmers of Karnataka. We have appealed to the authorities that no one should take the law into their hands. I appeal to them not to organise a 'bandh'...We are there to support the interest of Karnataka..."
Mandya witnessed a 'Bandh' called by pro-Kannada outfits and farmer organisations to protest against the order of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) asking the Karnataka government to release 5,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu for 15 days.
The strike came after the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the order of the CWMA.
In view of the protests, the state police have beefed up the security arrangements in the area to handle any untoward incidents.
Visuals showed the pro-Kannada outfits and farmer organisations staging protests, forming a human chain, and demonstrating on the streets, raising slogans.
Maddur and Taluq Centre will reportedly stay closed, and it is expected that due to the strike, the buses will also not operate. Shops and businesses will reportedly remain closed, and only essential services, including milk, medicine, and hospitals, will remain open.
Farmers across Karnataka have been protesting since the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) ordered the state to release 5,000 cusecs of water to its neighbouring state Tamil Nadu, for 15 days, effective from September 13.
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the CWMA order.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra while refusing to interfere in the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said both CWMA and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) are regularly meeting and monitoring the water requirements every 15 days.
It said the top court was not inclined to interfere with the order passed on this aspect by the authority, since the authority and committee were meeting and monitoring the situation every 15 days.
It declined to entertain an application filed by the Tamil Nadu government to increase its current share of Cauvery water from 5,000 to 7,200 cusecs per day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)