MYSURU: The state Bharatiya Janata Party has called for a Bengaluru-Mysuru highway bandh on Monday to protest against the Congress government’s decision to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. BJP leader Ashwanathnarayan Gowda said the Karnataka government has betrayed the state’s farmers by releasing water to Tamil Nadu for its Kuruvai crop.
He said former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and other leaders of the BJP will take part in the agitation. He appealed to Kannada organisations and farmers to participate in the agitation. Meanwhile, many sugarcane farmers were arrested on Saturday when they blocked the national highway near T Narasipura in protest against the release of water from the Kabini reservoir to Tamil Nadu.
They raised slogans against the Karnataka government and said farmers in the Kabini achukattu region will be affected because of the release of water to Tamil Nadu. With water being released to Tamil Nadu, the level in Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) and Kabini reservoirs is dipping fast.
Irrigation officials have opened the crest gates of these reservoirs to discharge more than 20,000 cusecs of water, including 13,000 cusecs from KRS. The water level has dropped to 107ft from 112ft in KRS and to 2272 ft from 2291.7ft in Kabini.
MP Sumalatha calls for united fight
Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh has appealed to people across party lines on Saturday to join the agitation against the injustice meted out to Karnataka by releasing Cauvery water for Tamil Nadu.
Whenever there is a rain deficit, Karnataka has always suffered as the judgments have been in favour of Tamil Nadu at every level, she said, and appealed to all not to politicise the issue which is related to the farmers. It is important to put a united show as the Centre is in favour of Tamil Nadu, she said, and demanded a long-term solution to the Cauvery dispute.