After KSRTC strike, Karnataka bandh called on July 30 over Mahadayi river water verdict

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Bengaluru: The strike by 1.23 lakh employees of the four state-run road transport corporations in Karnataka was called off after three days on Wednesday evening after the state government agreed to increase their wages by 12.5 percent instead of 10 percent offered earlier.

However, woes of people of Karnataka are far from over as pro-Kannada organisations and the Kannada film industry have called for a Karnataka bandh on July 30.

The bandh is in the wake of the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal's decision to reject Karnataka's plea to divert 7.56 TMC water from the Mahadayi basin to Malaprabha river.

Karnataka is in dispute with neighbouring Goa over sharing of the Mahadayi river's water to meet the drinking water needs of people in the state's northern region.

According to India.com, Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj, who heads Kannada Okkoota, a forum of pro-Kannada organisations, has urged people to co-operate in the complete shutdown in the Karnataka.

Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president Sa Ra Govindu has also assured that the Karnataka film industry will give its full support to make the bandh successful.

Meanwhile, protests have erupted in several parts of North Karnataka on reports that the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal's interim order is adverse to the interests of the state.

Several parts of north Karnataka like Gadag, Dharwad, Naragunda, Navalagunda, Gajendragad and Belagavi among other places saw protests with a few government offices coming under attack.

Karnataka wants to build barrages across Kalasa-Banduri tributaries of the Mahadayi river to divert 7.6 thousand million cubic feet of water for supplying drinking water to four districts - Gadag, Hubbali-Dharwad, Belagavi and Bagalkote - through the Malaprbaha river.

As the 77-km-long Mahadayi river (called Mandovi in Goa) flows to Goa from Karnataka into the Arabian Sea, the former, which has 52-km of its length, has been objecting over sharing its water, calling it a lifeline for its people.