Cauvery Controversy: Karnataka farmers lay siege to KRS Dam

Bangalore, Oct 3: Controversy surrounding sharing of

river water between neighbouring states of

and

is heating up. Around 5,000 farmers and activists of Karnataka opposing release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu laid siege to the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam on Wednesday, Oct 3.

The epicentre of the agitation, Mandya saw thousands of protesting farmers and activists raising slogans against release of Cauvery water to the neighbouring state.

Security measures have been intensified in and around KRS Dam. Rapid Action Force companies have been deployed by the government. As a precautionary measure, government has enforced prohibitory orders in a 1 km radius around the dam.

All schools and colleges in Mandya district remained closed, to avoid any untoward incidents, said an official.

Karnataka on Sunday has began releasing water from Krishna Raja Sagar and Kabini dams to ensure flow of 9,000 cusecs of water to the neighbouring state.

As per the Supreme Court order, Karnataka has to release water from Cauvery to its neighbouring state daily till Oct 15.

The Supreme Court order has not been taken lightly by the people of the state. Vehicular movements and train services between Bangalore and Mysore have been disrupted due to protests in Karnataka over Cauvery issue.

The BJP government in Karnataka has come under severe criticism for agreeing to release water. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Tuesday said that Karnataka would appeal to the Supreme Court seeking review of the Cauvery order.

He said the government had no choice but to abide by the apex court's order. "We had approached the Cauvery River Authority, chaired by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking justice over the issue. We had to abide by the SC order and accordingly we have released water till today. We are hopeful of resolving the issue," he said.

OneIndia News