A 40-year-old man climbed atop a mobile tower at Heggadagere village in the taluk on Thursday, demanding that the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu be stopped immediately.

The man, identified as Prakash, threatened to jump to death if his demand was not met with. He also said that a reservoir should be constructed at Mekedatu for the drinking water project. The man came down only after the intervention of the Ramanagarm deputy commissioner. He went to the summit of the tower at around 8 am. Locals called up Prakash and he told them that he was disappointed with the release of water. The man said that he would not come down till Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gives him an assurance in this regard.

The Bidadi police and the fire department officials arrived at the spot and tried to convince him to come down, by speaking to him over the megaphone. All this and appeals by local leaders and elected representatives, including Magadi MLA H C Balakrishna, went in vain.

Finally, Deputy Commissioner Mamata tricked him into climbing down, saying that the release of water had been stopped. The man later came down and submitted a memo to the DC. Prakash claimed that he had not eaten or slept over the last few days, disturbed by the release of water to the neighbouring state. A large number of people had gathered at the spot to watch the spectacle.
DH News Service