Karnataka bandh: 44 flights cancelled, schools shut, chaos at airport
text_fields
Bengaluru: Several flights have been cancelled at Bengaluru International Airport on Friday following protest over the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.
The outfit Kannada Okkuta called the statewide dawn-to-dusk shutdown, to which the opposition BJP and JD(S) extended support.
Kannada Okkuta is an umbrella for various outfits including Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Kannada Chalavali (Vatal Paksha) and various farmers’ bodies.
The bandh is also hailed by guilds for hotels, autorickshaws and hail riders associations in Karnataka.
As many as 44 flights were cancelled due to operational issues, the airport authorities reportedly said.
It is reported that passengers were updated about the cancellation well ahead.
Meanwhile, police have taken into custody five protesting pro-Kannada activists as they entered the airport premises with a Karnataka flag.
Protesters had booked tickets in order to get into the airport, India Today reported.
The shutdown has effected normal life across the state with the Southern part of the state reporting more intense response.
The organisers of the bandh on Thursday announced a massive protest procession from Town Hall to Freedom Park in the city, news agency PTI reported.
They added that they will block highways, toll gates, rail services, and airports as part spreading protest statewide.