Wednesday, Mar 12, 2003
Wednesday, Mar 12, 2003 |
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Karnataka
By Our Staff Correspondent
Scores of farmers from Srirangapatna, Palahalli, Naguvinahalli, Naganahalli and other villages marched to the reservoir site today and laid siege to the office of the Executive Engineer, threatening to open the crest gates. A majority of the farmers were from the vicinity of the KRS command area, which would benefit if water were to be released. However, farmers from beyond Mandya and those in the tail-end region of the command area did not participate in the agitation, as the water will not reach them given the precarious situation in the KRS. The water level stood at 67.24 ft. on Tuesday as against the maximum level of 124.80 feet. This is reckoned to be the lowest level in recent years for March although such low levels were not uncommon during June-July whenever rains had failed. There was tension near the dam site and the office of the Executive Engineer as farmers argued with senior officials and demanded that water be released immediately. But the officials said they were bound by Government order, which had forbidden any further release of water for irrigation, as the water was sufficient only to meet the drinking water requirements of Mysore and other towns. Farmers, and senior officials in the Irrigation Department argued and finally the Executive Engineer, Srikanta, spoke on the telephone to the CADA Chairman, M.V.Venkatraj, and apprised him of the situation. The latter sought two hours to discuss the issue with the Minister for Water Resources, H.K.Patil, but since the minister was not available, the officials sought some more time from farmers. Mr. Srikanta assured the farmers that the CADA officials would discuss the issue with the minister within two days. The farmers relented and issued an ultimatum that in case water was not released before Thursday, they would lay siege to the dam and release water into the canals on Friday. The farmers, who were desperate to save the standing crops, slammed the Government for backtracking on its promise that water would be released to help salvage the crops. Their anger was directed at the officials in the Irrigation Department who came under attack for not releasing water into the canals to facilitate irrigation. A section of farmers gave vent to their anger by strongly rebuking the Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, for pursuing "anti-farmer policies" and for releasing water to Tamil Nadu while farmers from his own constituency were in dire straits. They said they required water for 8 to 10 days only to salvage the standing sugarcane and paddy crops, which were withering. The crops were almost ready for harvest and a little water in the next few days would ensure that their hard work did not go waste. It was pointed out that about 11,500 acres of land would benefit if water were released within the next two days. However, the Irrigation Department officials pointed out that they had instructions not to release water for irrigation and, hence, only 530 cusecs of water was being released every day to meet the drinking water requirements. Meanwhile, heavy security was in place at the reservoir site to prevent any untoward incident. The farmers were outnumbered by the strong posse of police who prevented the situation from going out of control.
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