Cauvery row heats up, parallel protests held in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
Tit-for-tat protests in the two states over the 150-year-old dispute disrupted normal life but no incidents of violence or vandalism were reported
Farmers burnt effigies, held mock funerals of chief ministers and staged an agitation with dead rats near their mouths as dramatic protests over sharing the water of the Cauvery roiled Karnataka and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, setting off a political row.
Tit-for-tat protests in the two states over the 150-year-old dispute disrupted normal life but no incidents of violence or vandalism were reported. But agitators took out rallies, inthe two neighbouring states, even as their respective governments stuck to their stands and accused the Opposition of politicising the issue.
Pro-Kannada activists in Karnataka’s Ramanagara conducted a mock funeral of Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday morning, news agency ANI reported. In Trichy, South Indian River Linkage Union state president Aiyakannu and others garlanded a portrait of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the protest, news agency PTI reported.
In Trichy, farmers demanding water from Karnataka held dead rats near their mouth to mark their protest.
The river is crucial for farmers in the two states with paddy being the principal crop in the Cauvery delta. Karnataka has two seasons—kharif (monsoon sown) and rabi (winter), while farmers in Tamil Nadu have three harvests—kuruvai (June-September), thaladi (October to December), and samba (August-January).
On August 14, the Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court, seeking its intervention in compelling Karnataka to immediately release 24,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water from its reservoirs. Tamil Nadu urged the Court to direct Karnataka to adhere to the release of 36.76 TMC of water, as stipulated for September 2023 in accordance with the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT)’s final award of 2007.
After the matter reached the court, The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, directing Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. On September 18, The Cauvery Water Management Authority asked Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, upholding The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) September 12 order demanding the same.
In Bengaluru, police detained more than 1,000 people, thwarting a planned protest. In the evening, transport minister Ramalinga Reddy met protesters and received a memorandum, saying he would bring it to the notice of the chief minister. The five-point memorandum includes demands that water be not released to Tamil Nadu, the formation of an election commission-like body to assess things during distress years, and the implementation of the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project.
“On behalf of the chief minister, I have received the memorandum. I will take these demands to the CM. I want to assure that the government is with the farmers and with Karnataka,” he said.
Shanthakumar, the farmer leading the protest, said the bandh was successful and set a three-day deadline for the government to announce its decision. “We have given a memorandum to the government, and we expect to hold a meeting with the CM in the coming days. We will not allow the release of any water from Karnataka. Further decisions on the protest will be taken after the meeting,” he said on Tuesday evening.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday flayed the Congress government in the state for alleged detention of farmers and Kannada activists participating in the ‘bandh’ here to protest the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
The protesters and farmers should be released immediately, he said, adding Cauvery water flow to Tamil Nadu should be stopped.
“What a surprise it is? On the one hand, those (Congress leaders) who (earlier) marched for Mekedatu (balancing reservoir project over river Cauvery) have arrested farmers and activists who were fighting for Cauvery river in the streets today,” the Janata Dal (Secular) leader said
Accusing opposition of politicising the Cauvery row, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday rejected allegations that his government has failed on the issue, and said his administration has never lagged behind in protecting the interests of the state, its people and farmers.
He reiterated the importance of the distress water sharing formula and the construction of a Mekedatu balancing reservoir across Cauvery river as the resolution for the dispute with neighbouring Tamil Nadu. “It is most unfortunate that BJP and JD(S) are potlicising the Cauvery issue. They are doing it for the sake of politics and not in the interest of the state or its people,” Siddaramaiah said in response to a question.
“We have taken several people, including three legislators, into custody for violating the prohibitory orders. They were subsequently released. Except for those shops that closed voluntarily, there were no incidents of forcefully closing shops,” said Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda.
He added that the police didn’t stop any buses coming from Tamil Nadu. “But, the Tamil Nadu authorities stopped the buses at the bordering districts in view of the bandh. We have communicated to them that any bus coming from Tamil Nadu will be provided adequate protection,” the commissioner added.
Kannada Okkuta, an umbrella organisation for pro-Kannada organisations, tried to lay siege to the Raj Bhavan but were stopped by the police. “The government should not release the water to Tamil Nadu. There is no water, no water to drink, no water for Bengaluru, no water for Mysore farmers, no water for Mandya farmers, and no water for Chamarajanagar farmers. Don’t release the water,” said Vatal Nagaraj, a former lawmaker who heads the group.
