A statewide bandh has been called in Kannada on Monday by two groups with a long list of demands, but many public services are expected to run as usual. Buses run by the state, including KSRTC and BMTC, will continue to ply, as will taxis and the Bengaluru metro. However, officials said any of these public transport options might be stalled down later in the day in case its operators face threats from protest groups.

Most shops, businesses, schools and colleges will stay open, though some have declared holidays for precautionary reasons. Petrol pumps will operate at their full capacity, even as the Bengaluru Petroleum Dealers’ Association has declared “moral support” to the protestors”. Security has been stepped up around the state’s major cities.

Two groups, Kannada Okkoota and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce are behind the bandh. They are expected to hold a protest march in Bengaluru’s Freedom Park. Among their demands are farm loan waivers and water scarcity in the state’s driest areas. They want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the dispute on the sharing of water from the Mahadayi river between Goa and Karnataka. They have also raised concern about Tamil Nadu opposing the Mekedatu project on the Cauvery river and want Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti members sent out of Karnataka for “anti-Kannada activities”, The Indian Express reported.

Additionally, some traffic restrictions are expected to apply in Bengaluru as Vice President Hamid Ansari and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi arrive in the city for the official relaunch of the National Herald newspaper.