The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) has threatened to launch a ‘jail bharo’ if the State government failed to protect the interests of farmers in the Cauvery water dispute.
Addressing protesters outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Monday, K.S. Puttannaiah, KRRS leader, said the State should effectively frame its arguments and present a true picture of the ground realities at the Cauvery River Authority meeting on September 19.
He said the monsoon was weakening in Karnataka while it was beginning to set in in Tamil Nadu. “Tamil Nadu does not require water at this juncture and if Karnataka is forced to release water from the reservoirs now, there will be a crisis in the run-up to the summer and the interest of farmers will be jeopardised,” he said.
Government flayed
Mr. Puttannaiah flayed the government for ignoring the plight of farmers in the Kabini basin in H.D. Kote and surrounding areas and said there was a growing perception that the reservoir had been constructed solely to store water to meet the requirements of Tamil Nadu. Calling for effective harnessing of the scarce resources, Mr. Puttannaiah said farmers in the State used 1 tmcft of water to irrigate 11,000 acres of land while their counterparts in Tamil Nadu used the same quantum to irrigate 7,000 acres.
