Bengaluru, Feb 4: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Bengaluru today, pro-Kannada outfits decided to call off the bandh called by them in the city today. The groups, however, staged demonstration seeking the PM's intervention in the Mahadayi river water dispute row.

The rally of PM Modi today marks the culmination of the state-wide parivartan yatra, which featured multiple rallies of the BJP president Amit Shah and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Assembly are slated in the Congress-ruled Karnataka in May this year.

The Prime Minister was scheduled to speak at 2pm at the Palace Grounds.

About the Mahadayi water sharing row

The inter-state dispute between Karnataka and Goa dates back to the early 1990s.

The row intensified in 2006 after the Karnataka government planned to execute the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project - a network of canals - to retain nearly 7.56 thousand million cubic feet of water of Mahadayi river, which originates in the Belagavi district of Karnataka and largely flows into the neighbouring Goa.

The Mahadayi Water Tribunal, set-up in 2010 on the appeal made by Goa, ordered the Karnataka government to stall Kalasa-Banduri Nala project.

Pro-Kannada outfits have blamed the tribunal's decision for the back-to-back drought in North Karnataka, where the farmers are left with no irrigation water post winter.

Bandh called off after court intervenes

The bandh was called off by the pro-Kannada outfits after the Karnataka High Court on Thursday called it unconstitutional. The bench had ordered the state government led by Siddaramaiah to ensure the shutdown call is foiled, and the law and order remains intact.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 04, 2018 01:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).