Cauvery Water Dispute: Karnataka Farmers Hold Half-Naked Protest During Bandh

Farmers in Bengaluru staged half-naked protest on Tuesday amid the ongoing Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The protest comes as farmers called for a bandh in Bengaluru against the order by Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, Bengaluru police said that only Freedom Park has been given permission to protest. 

“Farmers’ association members were detained at Mysore Bank Circle in Bengaluru after they staged a protest here,” Bengaluru police said. On Monday, the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association under the leadership of Ayyakannu held a protest in Tamil Nadu’s Trichy by holding parts of the skeleton” human skeleton and demanded the sharing of Cauvery water. The protestors demanded the sharing of Cauvery water to save the standing ‘kuruvai’ crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, bus services from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka have been disrupted. Reports have emerged that several buses from Tamil Nadu were stopped at Zuzuvadi in Krishnagiri district of the state.
On the other side, police in Bengaluru said that they have made adequate bandobast and no protest or procession will be allowed by farmer outfits.

Farmers across Karnataka have been protesting since the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) ordered the state to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, effective from September 13.
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the CWMA order. Disappointed with the Supreme Court’s Thursday order, a strike in Mandya was called by activists and farmers.
HD Kumaraswamy accused the Congress government of having failed the people of the state on the issue.

“Cauvery water is our lifeline water. This year we didn’t get proper rain. We have been fighting for many years for Cauvery water. Every day we are watching these protests on TV. There has been a Rs 30,000 cr loss for our farmers as per a government report. The government has failed on the Cauvery water issue,” he said.