Tamil dailies burnt in Karnataka, banned from distribution

After Tamil television channels went off the air and theatres stopped screening Tamil movies in Bangalore and many parts of Karnataka in the wake of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal’s verdict, it was the turn of Tamil dailies to be burnt and banned from distribution in Karnataka.

Several bundles of Tamil newspapers meant for distribution in Bangalore were burnt at the Magadi Road Toll Gate in Bangalore. Eight newspaper bundles containing about 16,000 copies of Tamil daily Dina Thanthi were burnt by a group of people.

Bundles of the Tamil daily are dropped at the Magadi Road Toll Gate everyday in the morning for the newspaper agents to pick up. But, before the agent could take possession of the newspapers, a few persons arrived on the scene, took away the bundles of Dina Thanthi and set them on fire.

Similiarly, the members of Newspaper Distributors’ Association burnt copies of three Tamil dailies – Dina Thanthi, Dina Mani and Dinakaran – in Mysore to protest the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal’s verdict.

After setting fire to the Tamil dailies, the Association banned circulation of Tamil newspapers for one week, President of the Association B Suresh told reporters.

The Bangalore Tamil Sangam has resented the virtual black out of Tamil in Bangalore, which is home to more than two million Tamils. “We are with the people of Karnataka in their cause for Cauvery waters. But, we are sad that things are turning out this way”, said President of Bangalore Tamil Sangam Shanmugasundaram.

Tamil Sangam is planning to take up the issue of blacking out of Tamil in Bangalore and different parts of Karnataka with the Government. Karnataka’s Home Minister M P Prakash has sought to assure the Tamil community in Bangalore that the issue will be dealt with.

Though the black out of Tamil channels and Tamil movies in Karnataka was a voluntary decision by cable operators and theatre owners initially, several pro-Kannada groups are ensuring that the ban on Tamil channels and movies in enforced.

Meanwhile, several film buffs in Bangalore are reportedly going to Hosur, situated at a distance of 35 kms from Bangalore, across Karnataka’s border in Tamil Nadu to watch their favourite Tamil movies.
With a sizable Tamil population, at least one new Tamil movie is released in more than ten theatres across Bangalore every Friday. But, ever since the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal delivered the award on February 5, things had changed for the worse to the Tamil population in Bangalore.