Vatal calls for closure of Karnataka-T.N. border at Attibele on Monday
Veteran Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj, who has reiterated his call for Karnataka bandh on August 13, has called for closure of Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border at
Veteran Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj, who has reiterated his call for Karnataka bandh on August 13, has called for closure of Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border at Attibele on Monday. Speaking to reporters during a demonstration in Mysuru on Saturday, Mr. Nagaraj said Kannada activists will not allow any vehicle from Tamil Nadu to enter Karnataka at the inter-State border in Attibele at 11 a.m. on Monday. Neither will any vehicle from Tamil Nadu be allowed to enter Karnataka nor will Karnataka vehicles be allowed to cross the border into Tamil Nadu, he said.
The Kannada activists will be closing the inter-state border at Attibele on August 10 or Monday to send a warning to Tamil Nadu ahead of the state-wide bandh on August 13. The bandh has been called for various issues of Karnataka including Mekedatu, Mahadayi and Kalasa Bandhuri projects among others. Nagaraj, who has already rejected Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s appeal to withdraw the bandh call, said more than 2,000 pro-Kannada organisations had extended support to the bandh. He expected the support to increase to more than 3,000 organisations by August 13.
Nagaraj has appealed to the hotel owners of Bengaluru and Mysuru to remain closed for a day on August 13 in support of the bandh. Responding to a question on the proposed visit to Karnataka of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay Joseph, Mr. Nagaraj said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was welcome to Karnataka if he announced his support for the construction of Mekedatu balancing reservoir. “If not, we will close the airport and not allow him to land in Karnataka,” Mr, Nagaraj said.
With regard to the Bidadi township project, Mr. Nagaraj said he is opposed to the project, but attributed the origin of the project to Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, who had first mooted the township during his regime as Chief Minister in 2006.
The BriefWire