Protests against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu further intensified on Monday in Mandya and Mysore districts of Karnataka throwing normal life out of gear. Rail and road traffic between Bangalore and Mysore were affected leading to thousands of people being stranded and affecting attendance in government offices in the region.
In the Cauvery basin, thousands of people took to the streets to pressure the government to stop further flow of water to Tamil Nadu and courted arrest in view of the jail bharo call given by Cauvery Raita Hitarakshana Samiti president G Madegowda. Actor Ambarish also took part in the protests in Mandya. More than 200 Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists led by its president Narayanagowda were arrested while they tried to storm the Krishna Raja Sagar dam.
The Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border was blocked from all four sides at Chamarajanagar.
Roadblocks were staged in Srirangapatna, Mandya, Maddur, KR Pet and elsewhere. Lawyers in Srirangapatna and Maddur abstained from court proceedings to express solidarity with the farmers. Journalists also joined the stir in Mandya.
At Gejjalagere near Maddur, farmers stopped the Mayiladuthurai Express and blocked the track. Four more trains were stopped at different places. This forced the Railway authorities to cancel ten trains between Bangalore and Mysore.
The frequency of government buses from Mysore to Bangalore was also brought down. The buses bypassed parts of the Bangalore-Mysore highway due to roadblocks leading to further delays. Schools and colleges were closed also as a precautionary measure.
In Mysore, protests involving pro-Kannada farmers organisations, school and college students, milk unions and other outfits took place in various parts. Kannada Mysore Vedike activists mocked the Chief Minister and MPs of Cauvery basin for their ‘failure’ to safeguard the interests of the State. Mysore-Chamarajanagar District Milk Federation Association members took out a protest march with milk vans spilling red-coloured water on the roads to indicate they are ready to shed their blood not water.
Tension gripped the protest site in Gejjalagere and in Mysore when a person threatened to commit suicide and another tried to jump from the Deputy Commissioner’s office. At Nanjangud, trucks and tractors were used to block the Mysore-Nanjangud road JDS activists.
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