Bengaluru: Protests have erupted in various districts situated within the Cauvery river basin in Karnataka following the Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene in the directives issued by the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee. These directives stipulate that Karnataka must release 5,000 cusecs of water to its neighboring state, Tamil Nadu.
Farmer organizations and pro-Kannada groups have organized protests in cities such as Mysuru, Mandya, and Bengaluru, where they have expressed their displeasure and appealed to the state government to refrain from releasing water to Tamil Nadu.
In Mysuru, the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, a farmers’ organization, conducted a protest at Basaveshwara circle. They chanted slogans such as “Where is the water to release?” and emphasized their demand for justice. Additionally, they intend to stage a protest at the Command Area Development Authority office in Mysuru to register their protest.
A prominent farmer leader pointed out that the Cauvery and Kabini basin regions have already been declared drought-stricken. He alleged that the orders issued by the Cauvery Water Management Authority favored Tamil Nadu without considering the water levels in reservoirs, the status of standing crops, and the drinking water requirements of Karnataka.
In Bengaluru, the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike staged a protest at Gandhinagar, urging the state government not to release water to Tamil Nadu under any circumstances. The leader of the Vedike, T A Narayana Gowda, described this development as a “black day” for Karnataka. He expressed that they may have to defy the orders of the Supreme Court and the Cauvery Water Management Authority since these orders were issued without an adequate understanding of the ground reality.
Mr. Gowda and numerous Vedike activists were subsequently detained by law enforcement authorities.
Gowda further urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take a resolute decision in the best interests of the state and abstain from releasing water. He asserted that activists and the public are prepared to accompany the Chief Minister to jail if necessary, in defiance of these orders. He referenced a past incident involving former Chief Minister S Bangarappa, who enacted an ordinance to challenge such orders.
R Ashoka, a BJP leader and former Minister, accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources Minister portfolio, of betraying Karnataka’s citizens to safeguard the political interests of the Congress party. He claimed that the Congress was seeking cooperation from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for upcoming Parliamentary elections, which prompted them to release water, thereby betraying Karnataka. Ashoka contended that the state government had been negligent on the Cauvery issue and had only acted in response to Tamil Nadu’s actions.
The Cauvery Water Management Authority had recently directed Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for an additional 15 days, following a similar recommendation by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee. Karnataka has maintained that it cannot release water to Tamil Nadu due to its own pressing needs, including drinking water requirements and standing crops in the Cauvery basin areas, exacerbated by deficient monsoon rains.
By PTI
