Overview
- A 12‑hour statewide bandh called by Vatal Nagaraj is scheduled for Thursday, August 13 from 6 am to 6 pm to protest Cauvery water‑release directions.
- Bengaluru police and state authorities have said schools, banks, offices and public transport are expected to operate and have deployed forces to prevent forced shutdowns or road blockades.
- Major local organisations have stopped short of full participation and offered mostly moral or symbolic support, with KAMS withdrawing its earlier call for school closures and KSRTC saying buses will run on schedule under police protection.
- Activists have already blocked the Attibele border this week and Vatal has said some Cauvery‑basin districts may see full shutdowns, making interstate and basin routes the most likely points of disruption.
- The bandh responds to CWMA/CWRC directions to release roughly 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water and presses for projects such as Mekedatu and Kalasa‑Banduri, and it could cause travel delays and localised business losses even if daily life remains broadly unchanged.