With standing crops on thousands of acres of lands withering owing to lack of water and heat waves, hundreds of farmers, under the banner of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene, laid siege to the taluk office in Srirangapatna of the district on Monday.
KRRS leader K.S. Nanjunde Gowda led the protest.
The Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL) should immediately release water to canals from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir to protect the interests of farmers, the protesters demanded.
Several thousand of hectares of land remain unsown across the district. On the other hand, crops including paddy, sugarcane and others were withering for want of water. The Irrigation Department should take measures to discharge water from the reservoir and also to ensure that the water released reached tail-end areas, they said. Later, they submitted a memorandum to Srirangapatna tahsildar K. Krishna.
Farmers’ leaders Krishne Gowda, Jayarama, Philips, Sunil and others were present.
