Bangalore, Aug 8 - Warring for decades over sharing of the Cauvery waters, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are set to remove one other irritant in their ties -- unveiling of the statues of saint poets Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore and Sarvajna in Chennai on Sunday and Aug 13 respectively.

The statue of Thiruvalluvar, author of Tamil masterpiece 'Thirukkural', will be uncovered Sunday, 18 years after it was installed, amidst protests by pro-Kannada organisations.

Four days later, the statue of Kannada poet Sarvajna will be unveiled in Chennai.

Thiruvalluvar, believed to be born 30 years before Jesus Christ, wrote 'Thirukkural' in the form of couplets (two line poems) expounding various aspects of life.

Sarvajna, believed to belong to the 18th century, is known for his 'Tripadis' (three-line poems) on life, religion, beliefs and problems of daily living.

Pro-Kannada organisations had stalled Thiruvalluvar's statue unveiling, maintaining that Tamil Nadu has been unfair to Karnataka over Cauvery river water sharing.

Last year's decision of Tamil Nadu to start the Hogennakal drinking water project to supply drinking water to two of its districts only added to the tension between the two neighbours.

One more irritant came in the form of a petition by a Tamil Nadu advocate in the Madras High Court last year challenging granting of classical status to Kannada language by the central government.

Tamil was accorded the classical status by the central government earlier.

Kannada and Telugu were granted the status later following strong protests by the people of the two states.

Pro-Kannada organisations are isolated and divided over the unveiling of the Thiruvalluvar statue as all leading Kannada writers, including Jnanpeet awardee U.R. Ananthamurthy, are supporting the government's decision to end the 18-year-old impasse.

The organisations are also divided over the form of protest on Sunday.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV-Karnataka protection forum) led by T.A. Narayana Gowda is opposing the Bangalore 'bandh' (shutdown) Sunday called by other groups.

The KRV, which has been in the news over disruption of the railway recruitment examination in Karnataka, also did not join the others in petitioning the high court against the unveiling ceremony.