The Mandya Zilla Raitha Hithrakshana Samiti on Sunday decided to intensify protests, including demand for resignation of Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, if the outcome of hearing of Karnataka’s application before the Supreme Court on Monday goes against the State.
The Supreme Court will hear the State’s application on Monday seeking a stay or modification of the September 28 order that directed the State to release 9,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water to Tamil Nadu daily till October 15 as per the Cauvery River Authority’s order of September 19.
Meeting
Samiti president and former MP G. Made Gowda held a closed-door meeting with Congress MLAs and samiti members here on Sunday. The samiti members refused to provide details of the meeting to mediapersons.
However, a Congress leader, who attended the meeting, said: “It was decided in the meeting to demand resignation from Mr. Shettar for failing to apprise the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) that recommended releasing 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.”
It was also decided to stage protests against Mr. Shettar till he tenders his resignation, the leader, requesting anonymity told presspersons here.
MLAs K.B. Chandrashekar, K. Suresh Gowda and others attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, vehicular movement on major roads, including the Bangalore-Mysore Highway, was disrupted across the district following series of rasta rokos by farmers.
Residents of Sabbanahalli, Yedagattana Halli, Gopanahalli, Kallahalli, V.V. Nagar, Devegowdana Koppalu, M. Shettihalli, Naguvanahalli, Anandur, Chindagiri Koppalu, Hemmige and Madarahalli staged protests in Mandya.
Farmers prepared curd rice with a quintal of rice on the Bangalore-Mysore Highway and distributed it to the protesters at Gejjalagere near Maddur on Sunday afternoon. While children performed karate on the highway on Sunday morning, a large number of Jaya Karnataka members from neighbouring Ramanagaram district participated in the “continuous protests” being staged by the samiti near Sir M. Visvesvaraya statue off Bangalore-Mysore Highway near Kallahalli.
The former Minister S.S. Patil, seers of various maths, members of Rajya Aradhya Yuvajan Samiti, Aradhya Vividhoddesh Samiti, fishermen community and Vishwakarma Samaja expressed their support to the samiti by participating in the protest.
They raised slogans against Jayalalithaa for demanding water from State reservoirs when the State is suffering from worst-ever drought.
Stone-pelting
The protesters burnt tyres and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitaa’s posters at different places in Mandya.
Meanwhile, a few farmers allegedly pelted stones on a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus at Mogara Halli near Srirangapatna on Sunday evening.
On Sunday too, KSRTC suspended its services across the district.
Train services were also affected because of the protests.
