With a heavy heart', K'taka releases Cauvery water to TN amid protests

Bengaluru: Complying with the Supreme Court direction, Karnataka on Wednesday released water from Krishna Sagar Dam to Tamil Nadu amid protests by farmers.

On Tuesday, the Karnataka government had decided to release Cauvery water “severe hardships”, as protests in the wake of court order intensified and farmers blocked the highway between Bengaluru and Mysuru.

“Despite severe hardships faced by the government of Karnataka, the state will release water as directed by the Supreme Court,” chief minister Siddaramaiah told reporters on Tuesday after nearly a three-hour long all-party meeting convened by him.

He also said the state would approach the Supreme Court with a modification petition, explaining its difficulties in implementing its order that directed the release of 15,000 cusecs per day to Tamil Nadu for next ten days. The petition will also seek a change in the Supreme Court direction and move the Cauvery supervisory committee.

The chief minister said it would be “difficult” for a Constitution-bound state to defy the Supreme Court order or to refuse the release of water.

“With a heavy heart”, it has been decided to provide water to Tamil Nadu even though the state itself was facing a “very severe distress” year, he said.

Seeking to assuage the feelings of protesting farmers in the Cauvery heartland of Mandya and other districts in the basin, he said all efforts would be made to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and other places, along with supply for crops. He appealed to farmers to maintain peace and tranquillity and not cause any damage to public property.

In Mandya, agitated farmers and activists belonging to pro-Kannada outfits had blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway as protests intensified in the wake of the apex court directive to the state to release Cauvery water.

Mandya district, the nucleus of Cauvery politics, saw a bandh with protesters holding road blockades and dharnas at several places, as hundreds of security personnel -- including central forces -- were deployed in the Cauvery belt to maintain law and order.

Prohibitory orders have been clamped around the Krishna Raja Sagar Dam and entry of visitors to is prohibited till September 9, as the Cauvery row intensified up after Monday’s Supreme Court directive on a petition by the Tamil Nadu government.

The court has directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water for the next 10 days to address the plight of the farmers in Tamil Nadu.

Protesters ransacked several government offices in Mandya and forced their shut down, while attendance at government offices remained thin, police said.

The court order triggered an immediate backlash, with the farmers’ body spearheading the stir and calling for a bandh in Mandya district on Tuesday.