On August 13, during a statewide bandh called over the Cauvery water-sharing dispute, protesters in Koppal, Karnataka, offered roses to lorry drivers from Tamil Nadu as a symbolic gesture urging them not to “provoke” Karnataka.
The demonstration took place at the Hitnal Toll Gate on the National Highway in Koppal taluk and was organised by activists led by Kerave Yuva Sene leader Vijayakumar. Rather than confronting the drivers, protesters handed them roses while raising slogans opposing the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) directive for Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.