Two days after violence brought many parts of the State to a standstill, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Cauvery issue, on Wednesday said he was still awaiting an appointment.
“The Prime Minister has not given me an appointment yet,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah, who had previously written to Mr. Modi seeking his intervention to resolve the water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He sought to emphasise that the water storage in Karnataka’s reservoirs was poor and it could not afford to release any more water.
Meanwhile, Home Minister G. Parameshwara assessed the damage caused in the city during Monday’s protests, while MLAs from the affected areas met with the State government.
The city, however, bore all signs of normal activity. At Hegganahalli, where the violence saw two persons die in police firing and lathi-charge, a few shops remained open. Despite police patrolling in the morning asking them to keep shutters down for a few more hours, shopkeepers said they could not afford to absorb any more losses.
Business as usualSimilarly, Mysuru Road saw the slow opening of stores near the Satellite Bus Station. In other parts, business was as usual, with traffic jams being reported in most major junctions.
Mr. Parameshwara conducted a quick inspection of the affected areas, including Hegganahalli. He interacted briefly with residents of Jai Bheem Nagar, near Nandini Layout, where stone-pelting had affected the livelihood of residents, and the private bus depot at Hosakerehalli where nearly 39 buses were torched or damaged.
While Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation services picked up through the day, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation said services had been reduced apart from Tamil Nadu-bound operations. Meanwhile, officials have begun the process of getting 54 high-end buses — which had been stranded in Chennai over the past week — back to Bengaluru. None of the buses has been damaged.
Okkoota calls for ‘rail roko’ today; security tightened
Despite a call from activists for a Statewide “rail roko” protest on Thursday, the police claimed they had put in place measures to ensures trains ran normally. Security has been tightened at railway stations, while the Karnataka Railway Police has asked passengers to inform them on 9480802140 of any disturbances or to receive updates on trains.
Meanwhile, Vatal Nagaraj, president of the Kannada Okkoota, was detained on Wednesday after an impromptu protest at Mysuru Bank Circle.
Police receive more than 2,000 pictures, videos
The city police’s efforts to crowdsource pictures of the violence seem to have paid off, with over 2,000 pictures and video clips being sent to the Command Centre. A majority of the pictures were sent through the Whatsapp number (9480801000). Officials said these pictures and videos would be stored and used as references to peg those who have been detained to the violence across the city. During the violence itself, there were a few pictures and videos sent that showed groups preparing for violence, and in a few cases, these plans had been foiled, said officials.
