Cauvery water row: Stalin, Kanimozhi court arrest as bandh evokes mixed reactions in Tamil Nadu

Factories, private offices, state and govt offices, public transportation are operating normally

The bandh called for by the Opposition parties and traders in Tamil Nadu, demanding Cauvery river water and to lodge protest against attacks on Tamils and their property in Karnataka, received a mix response.

DMK leaders Stalin and his sister Kanimozhi courted arrest even as police stepped in to prevent them from stopping trains and staging road blocks in Chennai.
 

While the industries, including factories, IT companies, private and government offices were operating, people who have announced the bandh say that the loss due to the shut down would be over Rs 20,000 crore since shops are shut and lorries are not operating.

The bandh was called by traders, political parties, including the ruling party's rival DMK, and other parties. Barring the ruling AIADMK party, which is silent on extending support to the strike, all other major political parties have extended their support.

The state government had said that public schools, transportation and state government offices would remain open and they remained open and were operating.

Most of the private schools have declared holiday on Friday. There are about 18,000 private schools in Tamil Nadu.

While private petrol bunks were shut, outlets run by public sector companies were operating normally. There are around 4,500 privately owned fuel outlets.

Private milk and petrol distributors, autorickshaws, omni-buses, traders and others have announced their participation in the shut down. However, state-run Aavin, which is the major source for milk supply, was not affected.

Members of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Traders Association are taking part in the shut down and hence several shops will remain closed on September 16.

Similarly, vegetable wholesale markets are also closed. There are about 21 lakh retailers in the state. The retail hub of Tamil Nadu, T Nagar, was shut.

Of the around 3,400 buses in Chennai, around 70-75 per cent are operating with police protection.

Autos are operating partially. Chennai has around 2.5 lakh autos.

The police have taken necessary measures to prevent any untoward incident across the state.

Additional security will be provided to organisations owned by Kannadigas. There are about over 411 Karnataka-based banks, hotels, educational institutions and others businesses in Tamil Nadu.