Cauvery row: Mandya farmers launch dharna

The Cauvery River Protection Committee members launched a dharna at Silver Jubilee Park in Mandya on Thursday to protest the release of water to Tamil Nadu.  They have called a Mandya bandh on Saturday.

The committee also plans to organise a student rally on Monday against the government’s decision to release water to Tamil Nadu “betraying the interests of the state farmers”.

 Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the dharna, former MP and committee chairman Made Gowda said the dharna would continue till Wednesday.  But if the government did not accept the committee’s demand then the strike would continue, he said.

 According to him, the bandh was called to pressure Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to protect the interests of Karnataka farmers at the Cauvery River Authority meeting to be held on Wednesday. He said the Centre should not bow to Tamil Nadu’s “blackmail politics” and take any hasty decision that would affect the farmers in Karnataka.

 Gowda called upon the public to participate in the bandh and organise protest rallies in all taluk centres. A protest rally was taken out at Pandavapura town by members of all the parties who criticised TN Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for making it a political issue.

 JD(S) leader C S Puttaraju, KRRS president K S Puttannaiah and others participated in the rally.

 In Chamrajanagar, more than 25 activists of Kannada Kavalu Pade were arrested after they staged a protest at Buvaneshwari Circle.

 Traffic was disrupted for some time as the protestors threatened to block the National Highway connecting Chamrajnagar and Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu.