MDMK leader Vaiko, senior DMK leaders MK Stalin and Kanimozhi, who are part of the Opposition protest in Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery water sharing issue, were detained by the police, even as a rail and road strike hit public transport in the entire state today.
Senior DMK leader Durai Murugan was also arrested in Vellore. ANI tweeted pictures of former Chennai mayor M Subramaniam sitting on railway tracks at the Saidapet station to enforce the 'Rail Roko' protest.
Thousands of police personnel have been deployed across the state to ensure peace even as a youth set himself on fire yesterday over the water sharing row.
The bandh call given by several farmers and traders bodies.
Primarily to protest the violence targeted against the Tamils in Karnataka, the bandh is also aimed at seeking Cauvery water for the state and a final solution to the problem. After Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Jayalalithaa, urging her to ensure protection of Kannada speaking people, police said all measures have been taken to ensure peace.
Protection have been provided to Karnataka-related business establishments, schools, institutions and areas where Kannada speaking people live, including the Krishnagiri district.
A 24-year-old man set himself on fire at a rally held by Nam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) here for "retrieving Tamil Nadu's rights in Cauvery," and to condemn attacks on the Tamils in Karnataka.
An official of the Kilpauk Government Medical College Hospital, where he has been admitted, told PTI the "man has sustained 93 per cent burns, his chances of survival are dim."
Tamil outfits in Union Territory of Puducherry have called for a similar bandh.
(With PTI inputs)