Cauvery water row: Karnataka limps back to normalcy; Siddaramaiah says 'will comply with SC order'

Bengaluru: A day after being rocked by large-scale violence over the Cauvery water, an uneasy calm enveloped Bengaluru on Tuesday, even as the Karnataka government decided to comply with the Supreme Court's modified order to release 12,000 cusecs of water Tamil Nadu till September 20.

However, the government warned of dealing with an "iron hand" any violence after an emergency Cabinet meeting which took stock of the situation and decided to comply with the Apex Court order passed yesterday.

In Bengaluru, under prohibitory orders till tomorrow and where 16 localities remained under curfew, there were palpable signs of normalcy returning, as city police assisted by central forces kept a close vigil. 

A bus that was half burnt yesterday was torched once again today near New Timber layout and another vehicle was also set on fire near Tigalarapalya here. Both had Tamil Nadu registration number plates.

Police lobbed tear gas at Hegganahalli and Pattegarapalaya as protesters tried to burn tyres on the streets, defying curfew.

Sporadic protests have been reported in various parts of the state like Mandya, Chitradurga, Ramanagara and Mysuru.

A 30-year-old man died today of multiple injuries he suffered while escaping police lathicharge when he jumped in panic from a three-storey building here yesterday, police said, with the toll in the unrest over Cauvery row rising to two.

One person had died in police firing yesterday.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the victim did not die due to police action, but due to the injuries he had suffered.

Facing more pressure after the apex court's modified order, Siddaramaiah held an emergency cabinet meeting which decided that though it was "most difficult" to follow, the direction could not be disobeyed or rejected as it would be against the Constitution.

"This order is the most difficult to follow. But when we are functioning within the framework of the Constitution, though it is a difficult order, as a constitutionally formed government it is difficult to violate or reject the Supreme Court order. It will be a violation of the Constitution," he told reporters, as per PTI.

Siddaramaiah said the Cabinet, after weighing the pros and cons "constitutionally, legally and politically" and keeping in mind the main Special Leave Petition challenging the Cauvery tribunal's final award coming up on October 18, decided to obey the court order.

He said the first order passed on September 5 itself was difficult and yesterday's was "most difficult" to follow.

"But we have accepted the federal set up and that the legislature, executive and judiciary should function in a way complementary to one another," he said.

The CM said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention and requesting him to call a meeting of Chief Ministers of both states to resolve the issue.

On the other hand, Tamil Nadu was peaceful, with security beefed up for businesses owned by Kannadigas and also for popular personalities of Karnataka origin.

Tamil Nadu was peaceful, with security beefed up for businesses owned by Kannadigas and also for popular personalities of Karnataka origin.

However, angry truck owners in Tamil Nadu told the media that they would hold a demonstration in Hosur town, condemning the burning of around 45 trucks by hooligans in Karnataka, as per IANS.

In its September 5 order, the apex court had directed release of 15,000 cusecs for 10 days to ameliorate the plight of farmers of the neighbouring state, which had triggered strong protests from farmers and pro-Kannada outfits with Karnataka observing a bandh against it on September 9.

(With Agency inputs)