Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu; farmers take to streets

The members of Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha took to the streets, opposing the release of water to Tamil Nadu (TN) from Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) Dam in Srirangapatna, on Saturday. The farmers blocked the Mysuru-Bengaluru National Highway, near Indavalu, as a mark of protest.

The farmers alleged that the authorities were releasing a large quantity of water to the River Cauvery, compared to the canals, despite shortage of water. "The water must not be released to Tamil Nadu as the dam has no sufficient storage. We will stage a protest across the district, if the authorities do not stop releasing water to TN," they said.

The protesters blocked the highway for nearly 15 minutes, resulting in traffic disruption.

On the other hand, the dam authorities claimed that the water was being released to Tamil Nadu as per the directions of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). The outflow from the dam was 5,810 cusec - 2,611 cusec to the canals and 3,199 cusec to the river on Saturday.

Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Executive Engineer Ramakrishna said that the water was being released as per the directions of CWMA.

Following the release of water to the river, boating at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna taluk has been suspended from Saturday morning as a precautionary measures, said, Deputy Range Forest Officer Puttamadegowda.