For 27 days movement of people through the border town of Attibele, south-east of Bengaluru, to Hosur in Tamil Nadu, has been restricted because of the litigation over the Cauvery. Tension still runs high with men in uniform standing guard on either side, stopping vehicles and turning and several backs.
Scores of people forced to alight from buses before their destination and walk across the border through the day.Some carried toddlers on their hips, some others heavy gunny bags on their head. There are tens of stories from the two towns, but none that should exist on a stretch of a national highway shared by two neighbours in one country.
This LoC - Litigation over Cauvery -has created a unique situation of roads between two states blocked due to politics. The only other example is the Jat agitation earlier this year when the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border was closed but not for this long, although there was more violence. Siva Kumar, 39, a resident of Bengaluru, says: "I have lived in Bengaluru for 13 years. My wife has gone to her hometown of Salem to deliver our second child. Earlier, I would visit her every weekend, but in the past five weeks, I've only managed to go once." V Anand, 42, a groundnut seller and resident of Krishnagiri district, says: "My business is in Bengaluru city market. I have to go there, but walking so much with this load is taking a toll on me. Earlier the bus went there directly . Now, it stops here and I have to walk over the other side and wait."
The two states have always had close ties. As per the last linguistic figures, released in 2008, there are 10.5 lakh Kannada-speaking people in Tamil Nadu, constituting 1.7% of the state's population. Karnataka has the largest Tamil-speaking population (18.9 lakh) outside of TN and Tamilians comprise 3.7% of the state's population.Of this 50% are settled in Bengaluru, constituting a little over 13% of its population.
It all began on September 9, four days after the SC passed the first of its several interim orders this season, asking Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The statewide bandh called in Karnataka that day was peaceful with no injuries reported. "But we have been stationed here from September 5 (the day SC passed the order) as a precaution," a Karnataka police constable said. He was there the first day TOI visited the spot and said he had not anticipated such prolonged restrictions on interstate travel. A km away , Tamil Nadu police said the same thing. For 27 days, no vehicle with Karnataka registration plates entered TN and vice versa. By 9.45am on Wednesday, non-commercial vehicles began moving across the border, but the numbers were low.
Basavaraju, who has worked with KSRTC for 30 years as a traffic controller, was standing under the scorching sun, waving the red buses back. "I am from Hosur bus stand but I've been posted here for the past month. We are making all entries (of the trips) here at the border," he said.
"It is done for the safety of people and property . The talks between the governments are ongoing, a movement may resume by tomorrow (Thursday) or the day after," TN superintendent of police, Krishnagiri, Magesh Kumar said.
But the tension was palpable with people still wary of entering or exiting one state. Jayamma, 55, a flower vendor and resident of Hosahalli who buys from Hosur, said: "Safety is more important. But that can only happen for a few days, after which you need money to keep your life, the safety of which is paramount."
Scores of people forced to alight from buses before their destination and walk across the border through the day.Some carried toddlers on their hips, some others heavy gunny bags on their head. There are tens of stories from the two towns, but none that should exist on a stretch of a national highway shared by two neighbours in one country.
This LoC - Litigation over Cauvery -has created a unique situation of roads between two states blocked due to politics. The only other example is the Jat agitation earlier this year when the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border was closed but not for this long, although there was more violence. Siva Kumar, 39, a resident of Bengaluru, says: "I have lived in Bengaluru for 13 years. My wife has gone to her hometown of Salem to deliver our second child. Earlier, I would visit her every weekend, but in the past five weeks, I've only managed to go once." V Anand, 42, a groundnut seller and resident of Krishnagiri district, says: "My business is in Bengaluru city market. I have to go there, but walking so much with this load is taking a toll on me. Earlier the bus went there directly . Now, it stops here and I have to walk over the other side and wait."
The two states have always had close ties. As per the last linguistic figures, released in 2008, there are 10.5 lakh Kannada-speaking people in Tamil Nadu, constituting 1.7% of the state's population. Karnataka has the largest Tamil-speaking population (18.9 lakh) outside of TN and Tamilians comprise 3.7% of the state's population.Of this 50% are settled in Bengaluru, constituting a little over 13% of its population.
It all began on September 9, four days after the SC passed the first of its several interim orders this season, asking Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The statewide bandh called in Karnataka that day was peaceful with no injuries reported. "But we have been stationed here from September 5 (the day SC passed the order) as a precaution," a Karnataka police constable said. He was there the first day TOI visited the spot and said he had not anticipated such prolonged restrictions on interstate travel. A km away , Tamil Nadu police said the same thing. For 27 days, no vehicle with Karnataka registration plates entered TN and vice versa. By 9.45am on Wednesday, non-commercial vehicles began moving across the border, but the numbers were low.
Basavaraju, who has worked with KSRTC for 30 years as a traffic controller, was standing under the scorching sun, waving the red buses back. "I am from Hosur bus stand but I've been posted here for the past month. We are making all entries (of the trips) here at the border," he said.
"It is done for the safety of people and property . The talks between the governments are ongoing, a movement may resume by tomorrow (Thursday) or the day after," TN superintendent of police, Krishnagiri, Magesh Kumar said.
But the tension was palpable with people still wary of entering or exiting one state. Jayamma, 55, a flower vendor and resident of Hosahalli who buys from Hosur, said: "Safety is more important. But that can only happen for a few days, after which you need money to keep your life, the safety of which is paramount."