Mandya: Farmers led by the State Farmers’ Association staged a protest at Sanjay Circle in Mandya on Saturday opposing the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. They urged govt to address the water and agricultural crisis in the district.The protesters accused govt and irrigation department of failing to protect the interests of farmers amid water shortages and demanded immediate release of water to local canals, take drought relief measures and ensure uninterrupted supply of fertilisers. They also strongly opposed what they alleged was the “secret” release of water to Tamil Nadu, while several parts of Mandya were facing drinking water and irrigation issues.The outflow from KRS on Saturday stood at 2,700 cusecs.District minister N Cheluvarayaswamy visited the protest site and received the farmers’ memorandum. He assured the protesters that govt was committed to safeguarding farmers’ interests and said Karnataka had provided drought relief beyond the prescribed National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) norms, even in the absence of assistance from the Centre.Responding to the demand for release of Hemavathi water, the minister said an Irrigation Consultative Committee meeting would soon take a decision on canal water distribution. He added that chief minister DK Shivakumar is committed to supporting the farming community.
