A shutdown was called by the farmers in Coimbatore in protest against the neighbouring Karnataka Government's decision to construct a dam over the Cauvery River, as Tamil Nadu says the move would affect the natural flow of the river water.
Karnataka has a dispute with neighbouring Tamil Nadu over access to water from their shared Cauvery River.
Tamil Nadu gets precious additional reserves of water from the Cauvery River. This dispute has endured for years .
Farmers of Tamil Nadu say the dam would severely affect irrigation in the state and demanded federal government's intervention to resolve the matter.
In Coimbatore, shops remained shut and public transport stayed off the roads.
Over 15,000 auto rickshaws in the city were off the roads as the shutdown was also supported by the Autorickshaw Association.
More From This Section
A member of National Politburo of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), D. K. Rangarajan, resonated farmers' demands and said it is high time the federal government called the concerned parties for a meeting.
"We can appeal to the central government to use their appeal to stop that thing. We cannot create a civil war here. This is the modern era where the states must cooperate. Central government should call the inter-state meeting. There are several river issues not settled in this country," said Ranagarajan.
Tamil Nadu has been continuously pressing for setting up of a Cauvery Management Authority.
Karnataka contends it does not receive its due share of water from the river.
Meanwhile, in Chennai, the streets were deserted and the normal din of horns from cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes was absent. There was no commercial activity.
Cauvery River has for long been a cause of dispute between the state of Karnataka, from where it originates, and Tamil Nadu where the river flows into the sea.