As the state government has failed to live up to its commitment to divert 1.5 tmc feet of Kalasa stream water to Malaprabha river, the Kalasa-Banduri Horata Samanvaya Samiti has decided to intensify its agitation.
Samiti president Vijay Kulkarni told reporters on Tuesday that the farmers of Malaprabha river basin will take out a rally from Naragund to Belgaum from May 11 and stage a protest in front of the divisional commissioner’s office on May 12.
A memorandum will be submitted to the President through the commissioner seeking his intervention.
Kulkarni said ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state government had assured of diverting at least 1.5 tmc ft of water from Kalasa.
But the recent directive of the tribunal to erect a wall to stop diversion of water has came as a big blow.
The advocates representing the government in the tribunal have failed to make the right arguments in favour of the state, Kulkarni said.
Instead of arguing for an interim order, they agreed to give an undertaking to construct a wall for stopping any diversion of water from the stream and to not use the water, he charged.
Kulkarni insisted on submitting a review petition before either the Supreme Court or the tribunal to reconsider the directive on constructing a wall.