Members of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene besieged Water Resources Minister M B Patil at the airport here on Monday, alleging that the State government was delaying the filing of an interim application before the Mahadayi tribunal.
When Patil arrived at the airport on his way to Vijayapura, Sangha members stopped him for around 20 minutes and argued with him.
“The government is not responding to the farmers’ agitation in the region. It has not yet filed an interim application before the tribunal to utilise water from the Mahadayi basin,” the protesters said.
The minister said that the government had made preparations to file the interim application and the issue had been discussed with the State government’s lawyer Fali Nariman.
“Some issues cannot be disclosed, but the government has completed its work in connection with filing the interim application,” he said.
When the Sangha members sought waiving of farmers’ loans and disbursement of compensation for crop loss, Patil asked them to discuss the issue with Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda. This angered the protesters again.
The protest was withdrawn after the minister promised that a discussion with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would be arranged in Hubballi on September 29.
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