Karnataka government to release water through canals for Paddy crop in Mandya

Bengaluru: In an effort to defuse tension and decrease the intensity of protests by farmers in the Cauvery basin, the state government has decided to release water through irrigation canals and help save their paddy crop in Mandya district.
Vehicular traffic between Bengaluru and Mysuru was affected for the second day as scores of organisations continued their protest in Mandya district.

Trains, however, shuttled between these two cities but the authorities of Indian Railways took precautions to ensure that services were not affected by flash strikes between Srirangapatna and Maddur town. Mandya resembled a ghost town as all shops, government offices, petrol stations, cinema halls, banks, post offices and commercial established remained shut for the second consecutive day. All streets were deserted with agitators of all age groups blocked alternative routes towards Bengaluru by placing wooden logs and burning tyres.

Sources said a person jumped into the river Cauvery near KRS dam to protest against release of 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. Alert farmers and policemen rescued him. At least five trucks with Tamil Nadu registration plates were damaged in stone-throwing by farmers. They also made several attempts to gate crash into the dam site but were stopped by a large posse of policemen deployed since last Friday.

Several precincts in Mysuru city went without water as farmers reportedly locked up pumping stations at Belagola, Hongalli and Melapura. Efforts to contact the authorities of Vani Vilasa water works went in vain as no senior officer answered calls to explain why water was not flowing. The residents later discovered that farmers were camping at Srirangapatna, Palahalli, Kirangoor,

Baburayanakoppalu, Belagola to prevent any official belonging to the water board from entering the premises. Additional police forces were deployed at all state and central government offices in Mandya to ward off attacks.