Around 25,000 police officers will be deployed in Bengaluru, Mandya, Mysuru and several other parts of Karnataka on Friday on account of the state-wide bandh called by farmers' unions and pro-Kannada groups to protest against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state will not oppose the strike. "We have no issues with peaceful protests, but any act of violence will be punished," he added, according to Mint.

Transport services are expected to stay off the roads, either to support the agitation or to avoid damage to vehicles in case of violence. Schools and government offices are likely to remain closed, according to Siddaramaiah. As many as 3,800 petrol bunks, including 460 in Bengaluru, will remain shut between 6 am to 6 pm, President of the Karnataka Petrol Bunks Owners Association BR Ravindranath said. Vice President of the Bruhat Bengaluru Hotels Association PC Rao said restaurants and other eating joints will not operate either, The Times of India reported.

Two cadres of security personnel from Andhra Pradesh and Kerala as well as 10 from the Centre have been roped in to maintain law and order during the strike. Opposition parties in the state, such as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular), as well as former external affairs minister SM Krishna have expressed their support for the strike.

The Supreme Court direction to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu every day for 10 days triggered protests among farmers and pro-Kannada organisations, which urged the state to first protect the interests of its own people. The apex court order came despite the Karnataka government's repeated appeals that the state was facing an acute shortage of water after witnessing a rainfall deficit for six straight years.