Bengaluru: Pro-Kannada organisations staged protests across Karnataka on Wednesday against the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directive asking the state to release 3,500 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. Demonstrators argued that Karnataka was itself facing a drinking water shortage and could not spare any water under the prevailing conditions.
Major protests were held in Bengaluru, while similar demonstrations were reported from Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagara. Police detained several protesters and deployed heavy security to prevent disruptions.
Protesters oppose CWRC directive
In Bengaluru, members of a faction of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) led by Shivarame Gowda, along with several other pro-Kannada organisations headed by Sa Ra Govindu, assembled near the Kuvempu statue in Malleswaram.
Carrying empty pots on their heads to symbolise the state’s water scarcity, the protesters marched through the locality, raising slogans against the CWRC’s order.
The demonstrators maintained that Karnataka was already grappling with concerns over drinking water and therefore could not afford to release water to Tamil Nadu.
Leaders call order ‘unscientific’
Addressing the gathering, Sa Ra Govindu described the CWRC’s directive as an “unscientific order”.
He claimed that despite nearly two months of the monsoon season, there had been very little inflow into the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam, leaving people struggling for drinking water while also affecting livestock and agriculture.
Questioning the directive, he said releasing 3,500 cusecs of water every day for 15 days, amounting to nearly 4.5 TMC, was not feasible under the present circumstances.
Govindu said Karnataka could not release “even a drop” of Cauvery water and expressed support for the farmers of Mandya, urging people across the state to oppose the CWRC’s decision.
Protesters warn of intensified agitation
KRV president Shivarame Gowda alleged that Karnataka had repeatedly been treated unfairly in the Cauvery dispute.
He claimed that the committee had issued its direction without considering the actual water availability in the state and urged the Karnataka government to safeguard the interests of farmers.
Protest leaders warned that the demonstrations would intensify if the state government proceeded with the release of water to Tamil Nadu. They stressed that the prevailing water scarcity and drinking water requirements should be taken into account before implementing the CWRC order.
Heavy police deployment in Bengaluru
Police erected barricades in Malleswaram and deployed personnel in large numbers to prevent any law and order issues.
Several protesters were taken into preventive custody before being shifted away from the protest site. BMTC buses were also stationed in the area to facilitate the movement of detained protesters.
Apart from Bengaluru, demonstrations were also reported in Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagara, where pro-Kannada organisations expressed similar opposition to the CWRC directive.
BJP criticises Congress government
The opposition BJP criticised the Congress government led by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar over its handling of the Cauvery issue.
Speaking to reporters in Shivamogga, BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra alleged that Karnataka’s legal representatives before the CWRC had failed to adequately present the state’s water availability.
He said farmers in the Cauvery basin were facing severe hardship due to inadequate rainfall and claimed that the state government had released water to Tamil Nadu even before the CWRC issued its latest direction.
The Karnataka government has already indicated that it will challenge the CWRC’s order through the appropriate legal forum, while protests against the directive continue in several parts of the state.