Cauvery row: A day ahead of bandh, Tamil Nadu youth sets himself ablaze

Chennai/Bengaluru: Pa. Vignesh, a 25-year-old youth from Mannarkudi, set himself ablaze on Thursday and was hospitalized in Kilpauk government hospital, Chennai during a protest by Naam Tamilar party over the Cauvery dispute, the city police officials said on Thursday.

Nearly 500 cadres of the Naam Tamilar party participated in a protest march from Pudupet to Egmore in Chennai, a day ahead of the statewide bandh, to condemn the violence targeting Tamils in Karnataka and to seek a long-term solution for the Cauvery dispute.

They were chanting anti-Karnataka slogans and were demanding for Cauvery water, when the incident occurred.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and NaamTamilar party have announced that they will stage rail blockade in different parts of the state.

A total of 100,000 police personnel will be out for security in the state. Of which 15,000 security personnel will be deployed in Chennai. Bus depots, government offices, government schools and banks will function with police security. Tamil Nadu police department has said that they will take strict action on those who incite violence on Friday.

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While various trade organizations and farmer associations will go on a protest in Tamil Nadu, on the other side of the borders, Karnataka will turn several districts-mostly in the Cauvery basin belt-including Bengaluru into a fortress ahead of the Bandh in Tamil Nadu.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah, in a letter on Thursday, asked his counterpart J. Jayalalithaa to ensure the safety of Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu.

News of attacks on business and videos of a van driver beaten up by fringe groups in Tamil Nadu had sparked widespread violence and arson in the state on Monday that left around 100 vehicles set on fire and at least one person dead. At least 500 people have been arrested so far and investigations are on to track the others, he said. “We still have 20 companies of Central forces with us they were deployed in Mandya in Mysore and in Bangalore city in addition to our forces,” G.Parameshwar, Karnataka Home Minister said on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court which heard a matter on the violence over Cauvery water has directed both states to maintain law and order.

At least two senior police officials (Deputy Commissioners of Police) in Bengaluru have been transferred from their posts on the mishandling of the riots, Parameshwar said.

Social media and electronic media advisories are in place, Parameshwar said.

Also Read: Cauvery violence: Bengaluru Police commissioner blames misinformation

In Bengaluru, 36 police station limits have been identified as sensitive with additional deployments. Bengaluru has 106 police stations. All roads leading to Tamil Nadu will also have additional forces, he said. A total of 60 companies (80-120 per company) of central and state security forces along with 6,000 regular police will be deployed.