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Violence shuts down Indian city
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INDIAN and foreign technology companies, including global outsourcing firm Accenture, closed offices and told staff to stay home in the technology hub of Bangalore yesterday after riots over the diversion of water from a river.
At least one person was killed in clashes between protesters and police that erupted after the Supreme Court ordered the southern state of Karnataka to divert some water from the Cauvery river to neighboring Tamil Nadu state.
Businesses in Bangalore, Karnataka’s capital, have faced four days of disruption this month because of protests about the water dispute and an unrelated trade union-organized strike on September 2. This week’s disturbances, in which dozens of vehicles were set on fire, have been the most serious in a city where gleaming new business parks are supposed to reflect the face of a modern, booming India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to resolve their differences peacefully. “The violence and arson seen in the last two days is only causing loss to the poor, and to our nation’s property,” Modi said on Twitter.
The Cauvery river has been the source of tension between the two states for more than a century and violence over who gets access to water has flared before.
Karnataka’s chief minister said that although the court ruling was difficult to abide by, his state would release water.
Many shops were shuttered and fire trucks were stationed outside a major shopping mall, which was closed and had netting draped from its walls, apparently for protection.
Television footage showed largely deserted streets as riot police patrolled. Bangalore airport said bus services to and from terminals were limited.
A curfew would be extended until today, police said.
A senior police officer L. Chandrashekar said 355 people were arrested. He said one person had been killed when police opened fire on Monday to stop protesters torching vehicles from Tamil Nadu.
Media reported a second person had died after falling while fleeing a police charge, but this could not be confirmed.
Bangalore, formerly known as Bangalore, is home to major Indian IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro and Mphasis, as well as startups like Ola and Flipkart.
Multinationals like Samsung Electronics, Oracle and Amazon.com also have offices in the city’s business parks that have sprung up over the past decade or so.
Thousands of English-speaking Indians work in the city’s call centers and back offices.
Indian software giants Infosys Ltd and Wipro were among the big employers to stay shut yesterday.
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