Varanasi and Lucknow, Feb. 7 :     As Water protesters stepped up their leave-or-we-die campaign, forcing the Varanasi administration to ban its shoot till February 22, Uttar Pradesh chief minister R.P. Gupta advised Deepa Mehta's unit to ''pack their bags'' and clear out of the city. ''It will be a blunder to give permission to shoot the film. Resentment against the film is widespread and we cannot afford to take a risk,'' Gupta said at a news conference in Lucknow. A legal twist has been added to the standoff with a Varanasi resident, Prabhat Kumar Singh, filing a petition in a local court accusing Mehta of 'denigrating Hinduism''. The court has asked the filmmaker to appear on Friday. District magistrate Alok Kumar clamped the 14-day ban after a group of Shiv Sainiks threatened to immolate themselves if the film's crew and cast did not leave immediately. Kumar added that the decision would be reviewed in the next fortnight ''taking into account the law and order situation''. Gupta, however, sent out the signal that the government would like the film team to leave as soon as possible. ''Let her go anywhere in the country and shoot. But she cannot shoot in Varanasi,'' he said. Pointed out that the Centre had cleared the script, he added: ''We are not saying it is offensive. We are only concerned about the protests.'' The chief minister said the district magistrate should have imposed the ban earlier as it would have prevented Sainik Arun Pathak from attempting suicide by jumping into the Ganga yesterday. Kumar was forced to clamp the order today after a group of 11 Sainiks made a dash for the Clarkes Tower hotel, where the film team has put up, and threatened to set themselves on fire. Some of the protesters had even taken off their shirts when a shaken police force succeeded in bundling them into a waiting van. The Sainiks warned the administration that it would be its responsibility to maintain law and order which, they said, would ''definitely deteriorate'' if the film was allowed to progress. ''We will not allow Mehta to make money by selling culture,'' said a protester. Unwilling to take a chance on the eve of the Varanasi bandh called by the hardliners, the police intensified its crackdown. At least 200 demonstrators were taken into custody for damaging government vehicles and trying to storm the residence of K.K. Pandey where Mehta has set up an indoor set. Stung by the ban order, the restive cast walked in a silent procession to the district magistrate's office, waving leaflets on the Death of Truth authored by Mehta and actresses Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. Shabana, the first to talk to Kumar, said: ''One step has pushed back Varanasi's culture by a hundred paces.'' Alleging that the administration had surrendered to a ''handful of goondas'', she demanded that Kumar give in writing his reasons for imposing the order. The district magistrate justified his decision, saying: ''There is a lot of resentment against the film. We are only acting on the police report which says the law and order situation will deteriorate drastically if the film is allowed to proceed. The crew were warned about the mood three days ago but they were bent on going ahead. One person has already attempted suicide. Some others tried to immolate themselves. Our first priority is Varanasi's peace.'' Five sadhus belonging to the Hardwar and Benares akharas have thrown their weight behind the protesters and warned that the ''city will burn if the film is allowed''.