Hemavathi canal row: Stand with Tumakuru farmers, BJP tells Congress

A delegation of BJP leaders visited the work site of the Hemavathi express link canal at Sunkapura in the taluk on Tuesday. 

They said that Congress leaders were intoxicated with power and demanded that the grand old party should come out in support of farmers in the region who are protesting against the project meant to take Hemavathi river water to Ramanagar district. 

BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, leader of the Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy and MLC C T Ravi were part of the delegation. 

Addressing a press conference later, Vijayendra said, “The government is trying to suppress the protests by farmers in the region. It should not see this as a prestige issue and call an all-party meeting on the matter”. 

“Deputy CM D K Shivakumar says the project work will not be stopped. CM Siddaramaiah should intervene in the matter. Injustice should not be meted out to people of Tumakuru district, in a bid to help others,” he said. 

Everyone was saying that the works undertaken were unscientific, the state BJP chief said, adding that the government’s foundation would be
shaken if farmers take to the streets. 

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna on Tuesday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demanding immediate stopping of the Hemavati Link Canal Project, while alleging that it was unjustly impacting farmers in Tumakuru region.

In his letter, dated June 3, Somanna highlighted growing public anger, claiming the project had led to unrest and repression of peaceful protesters, including farmers, seers, and local residents. He described the state government’s handling of the situation as “deeply regrettable”.

In his letter, Somanna demanded the state government to convene an urgent meeting of all elected representatives from the affected areas to be held in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who also holds Water Resources portfolio. He stressed that this meeting should examine the project’s technical, environmental, and social impacts.

The union minister also demanded that technical experts and officials,
who initially deemed the project unfeasible but now support it, be included in the meeting to explain their changed stance.

Cautioning that tensions in Tumakuru and Kunigal are escalating, Somanna criticised the state’s continued inaction and reiterated that “repeated requests to reconsider the project have been ignored.”