Agitating farmers held, released later

Police took hundreds of farmers into custody on Wednesday for trying to lay siege to the distribution canals originating from the Kabini reservoir. They were demanding the release of water into Hullahalli and Rampura canals in the taluk.

A posse of police personnel took them into custody and kept them at the DySP’s office for a while. They were later released.

The farmers of the region have been staging protests for a week. On Wednesday, they took out a protest march to the distribution canals on the outskirts of Hullahalli but the police stopped them near Malleshwaraswami temple. This led to heated arguments between the farmers and the police. Tahsildar Dayanand tried to pacify the crowd but the agitators continued to resist.

Assistant Executive Engineer Srinivas of the Kabini reservoir tried to explain to the activists that they cannot release water till there are clear instructions from the government. The farmers however, tried to barge towards the dam by removing the barricades erected by the police.