Farmers in Mandya relaunched their protest for the Cauvery waters, after a gap of four days, on Tuesday with the Supreme Court asking the State to release water at the rate of 6,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu till September 30. The district administration has deployed security forces at vital installations.
Hundreds of farmers and Kannada activists took to the streets in different parts of the district.
Traffic blocked
They blocked vehicular traffic on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway in many places between Srirangapatna and Maddur. Protests were also held in Pandavapura, Maddur, and Malavalli taluks. The Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir has been brought under tight security cover following the court ruling. A large posse of armed personnel was deployed at the reservoir.
“We have sent motorboats, fire tenders and two troupes to the KRS,” a senior official at the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said.
The Mandya Zilla Raitha Hitarakshana Samiti, which has been spearheading the Cauvery agitations for the past several years, has urged the State government to not comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
