Kopal: In a symbolic protest during the statewide bandh over the Cauvery river dispute, pro-Kannada activists in Koppal offered roses to drivers of Tamil Nadu-registered heavy vehicles, urging them not to “provoke” Karnataka.The bandh drew a mixed response across the state. In Koppal, the demonstration briefly disrupted highway traffic until police intervened and detained the key organisers.Led by Kerave Yuva Sene leader Vijayakumar, members of various youth groups, including the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike Youth Wing, Kalyana Karnataka Youth Wing and Suvarna Karnataka Yuva Sene, gathered at Hitnal Toll Gate on the national highway in Koppal taluk.The activists stopped lorries registered in Tamil Nadu but avoided confrontation, instead handing roses to the drivers. “We are peace-loving people. Do not provoke us,” Vijayakumar told the drivers. Protesters also raised slogans such as, “Take the flowers, don’t ask for water.”The demonstration was part of a statewide bandh called by the Karnataka Okkuta to protest the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) directive to Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.The protesters argued that Karnataka’s pressing domestic and agricultural water needs should take priority over meeting downstream water allocations.Protesters demanded immediate implementation of the long-pending Mekedatu balancing reservoir project, contending it offers the only viable long-term solution to the inter-state water crisis.Eom
