Amid Bengaluru Bandh, Google Asks Employees To Work From Home Tomorrow

Bengaluru:

Calls for protests over a longstanding river water sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have forced global firms including Walmart and Google to ask employees in Bengaluru to work from home on Tuesday.

Farmers and activists have called for a strike in Bengaluru demanding state authorities to refrain from releasing more water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.

Internal memos seen by Reuters showed multinational firms such as Google, Walmart, IBM and Accenture have advised employees to work from home and avoid any non-essential commuting during Tuesday’s strike.

The dispute over who gets access to the water has been a source of friction between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for more than a century.

Deadly riots broke out in Bengaluru in 2016 after the top court ordered the release of some water to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Monday his government would not curtail the protests but emphasised the importance of maintaining peace.

Bengaluru hosts more than 3,500 tech companies and some 79 “tech parks” – upmarket premises that house offices and entertainment areas catering to technology workers.

Many companies have asked employees to return to office or adopted a hybrid working model after the pandemic shutdowns.

Some private schools also shifted Tuesday’s classes online.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)