Vehicles with Tamil Nadu registration were torched in Bengaluru, extra forces deployed.
As Bengaluru erupted in angry protests over a new Supreme Court order in the Cauvery water dispute on Monday, schools, colleges and also offices closed early in the IT city and people hurried home.
The Supreme Court said today that Karnataka will now need to release less water of the river Cauvery each day for Tamil Nadu, but for a longer period. Karnataka, which says it barely has water for its own drinking and irrigation needs, had hoped for relief, instead of being asked to give more.
The protests were instant and massive. One person died and another received injuries after police opened fire upon protesters in Bengaluru's Rajgopalnagar area. Curfew was imposed in seven police station limits in the city and police has banned large gatherings of people.
Vehicles from Tamil Nadu were set on fire, their windscreens were smashed. Lorries were burnt and an Innova car was overturned and burnt. On the outskirts of Bengaluru, on Mysuru Road, protesters set over 20 buses with Tamil Nadu registration plates on fire.
Protestors rode around on bikes draped in the yellow and red colours of Karnataka. "We will give our blood but not Cauvery water," they chanted.
As protests broke out, metro services in the city were suspended as a precautionary measure.
One man told NDTV, "My daughter works in an office on MG Road. I don't know how she will get home."
Another, a doctor, said, "I came home from hospital early leaving my patients. I feel so bad. I should have been there with them."
Vehicles traveling to Tamil Nadu were advised to stop by police, while vehicles with Karnataka registration were attacked in that state.
In Tamil Nadu's Rameswaram, a family from Karnataka took refuge in a police station after five vehicles from that state were attacked. In panic, the family was seen trying to remove the number plates on their car. The Tamil Nadu police will now escort them across the border.