Bangalore: Over 50 pro-Kannada activists tried to block the Bangalore Airport on Wednesday afternoon in protest against the final verdict of the Cauvery water tribunal. The security agencies immediately detained them to ensure normal functioning of the airport.
Earlier in the morning, around 16,000 lawyers boycotted work and went on a strike under the banner of the Bangalore Advocate Association affecting proceedings at the high court. All schools and colleges also remained closed in Bangalore as well as in the Cauvery basin districts like Mysore, Mandya and Chamrajnagar.
However, the proposed state shutdown, scheduled for Thursday, has been postponed to February 12 in order to avoid disrupting the five-day Aero India Show, which took off in Bangalore on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Congress staged a walkout in the Assembly on Wednesday, demanding a reply from Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on the issue of ''adverse statements'' made by some lawyers representing the state in the Cauvery water dispute.
After a long discussion on the controversial statements by lawyers that the final award delivered by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was favourable to the state, Opposition Leader N Dharam Singh demanded a clarification from the Chief Minister as to how they had made such confusing statements against the interests of the state without consulting the government.
When Water Resources Minister K Eshwarappa rose to reply, Singh said it was an inter-state issue and only the Chief Minister should give a reply on behalf of the Government.
He wanted to know whether the lawyers consulted the government before making such statements as the government proposed to file a review petition before the Tribunal.
When the lawyers have made ''adverse'' statements, it was meaningless to hold an all-party meeting to discuss the fallout of the award and chalk out the future course of action, he opined.
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