MYSURU: In a sign that the farmers maybe backing down from the confrontational tactics that brought the entire state and the IT Capital to a standstill, Cauvery Hitharakshana Vedike president G. Made Gowda met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah half-way, saying, “The agitation will be called off if the state government agrees to compensate farmers for loss of crops in the Cauvery basin.”
Amid sporadic protests in Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru and other places in the Cauvery basin, authorities at KRS and Kabini dams released 17,456 cusecs to Tamil Nadu on Saturday.
Kannada Chaluvali Paksha convener Vatal Nagaraj also joined the protests in Mandya and later proceeded to join agitators near the KRS dam, a spot where three farmers threatened to end their lives by jumping into the river Cauvery, but were rescued by security personnel.
In an attempt to placate local farmers, the authorities allowed 3161 cusecs to flow into the canal from KRS, while 2500 cusecs from Kabini, 1900 cusecs from Harangi, and 4280 cusecs from Hemavathi were released into canals for crops in neighbouring areas. The water level at KRS on Saturday stood at 90.57 feet as against its capacity 124.80feet. Last year on the same day, the water level was 106.10 feet.
In a major relief to motorists, the protestors allowed vehicular traffic between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Traffic between these two cities was disrupted for five days after the Supreme Court ordered the state government to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for the next ten days. KSRTC buses resumed services in rural pockets of Mandya district while business establishments, including hotels, remained open through the day.
