Kannada film stars take to streets over Cauvery dispute

A day after Karnataka was virtually shutdown to protest Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal’s verdict, it was the turn of Kannada film stars to take to streets to denounce the “injustice” meted out to the State in the century-old water dispute with lower riparian state of Tamil Nadu.

Leading lights of the Kannada filmdom including matinee idols Vishnuvardhan, Ravichandran and Shivarajkumar, besides film heroines Jayanthi, Tara and Jayamala marched through the streets of Bangalore yesterday accompanied by thousands of fans to register their opposition to the Tribunal’s judgement, which has allocated Karnataka 270 tmc feet of water against 419 tmc feet Tamil Nadu is entitled to.

The stars gathered at the office of Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce along with producers, directors and technicians, before marching through Race Course Road and reaching the Raj Bhavan. The march witnessed a heavy deployment of police personnel to control the large number of fans, who had turned up for the protest march.

After reaching Raj Bhavan, a delegation comprising leading Kannada stars was allowed to meet Governor T N Chaturvedi and submit a memorandum seeking justice for Karnataka in the Cauvery water dispute.

Vishnuvardhan told reporters that Kannada film stars are prepared to use every option to help Karnataka secure its rightful share of Cauvery waters. “We are prepared for a struggle to help our farmers secure justice”, he said. Film heroines Jayanthi and Jayamala echoed Vishnuvardhan’s views. “We are committed to the farmers of Karnataka”, Tara said.

Kannada film fans carried large cut-outs of late Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar during the mammoth march, which led to traffic snarls in the surrounding areas.

Kannada playback singers held a separate protest at the Town Hall in Bangalore to denounce the verdict of Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal. Well-known singers Ashwath, Shimoga Subbanna and a host of artistes participated in the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Kannada chauvinist and MLA Vatal Nagaraj took out a unique protest in Bangalore to condemn the Tribunal’s verdict. He led a herd of buffaloes through the streets of Bangalore. Vatal Nagaraj himself sat on a buffalo during the march, which started from Legislators’ Home and ended at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.