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Writers
join Cauvery agitation:
Writers and thinkers joined the Cauvery agitation on
Sunday. They took out a silent protest March seeking
justice for the farmers of the State. The writers, under
the banner of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat, took out a
protest march from the Palace premises and sat on a dharna
at KR Circle. The agitators wanted the State Government to
pull out of the Cauvery tribunal. They have threatened to
continue their agitation till a permanent solution was
found to the problem. They claimed that a National Water
Policy was the only solution to the Cauvery crisis.
Youths
seek probe into Guruswamy's death:
Many youths of Heggadedevana Kote taluk have urged the
Government to order a probe into the death of K Guruswamy
who jumped into the Kabini reservoir last week in protest
against the release of water to Tamil Nadu. Former Pradhan
H. Devadas, Graduates Association President D Surendra and
Village Panchayat Federation president CV Nagaraj
condemned the police action on activists in which several
women were injured. They said women activists had decided
to jump into the reservoir to stop the release of water to
Tamil Nadu. In the same breath, they claimed that the
activists were forced to jump into the reservoir when the
police resumed lathi charge to disperse the crowd heading
towards Beechanahalli Bridge.
Activist
tries to hang himself:
One of the activists who thought that the Supreme Court
ruling was against the interests of the State tied a noose
around his neck and threatened to jump from a tree. M. S.
Linge Gowda, who hung onto a banner from a tree, later
tied a noose around his neck. Protestors who gathered at
KR Circle tried to persuade him against taking the extreme
step. Gowda said he was prepared to join Guruswamy, who
drowned in the Kabini reservoir recently, as a protest
against the injustice meted out to State farmers.
Cauvery
agitation gathers strength in Mysore, normal life
disrupted:
The Cauvery stir gathered momentum on Monday as protestors
who were expecting a negative verdict from the Supreme
Court took out rallies in Mysore. Various organizations
and activists burnt effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister
J Jayalalitha. The main roads of the City were flooded
with protestors who paralyzed normal life. Traffic was
thrown out of gear for a good part of the day. Business
establishments in most of the commercial areas of the City
were closed. Shops in Devaraj Urs road, Sayyaji Rao road
and on both sides of the double road downed their
shutters.
Policemen
refuse to let official join Central team:
There were some embarrassing moments during the Central
team's visit to Krishnaraja Sagar dam on Wednesday, when
the police prevented Chief Engineer (South Circle)
Chandrashekariah from joining the team atop the dam.
Despite revealing his identity, Chandrashekariah was not
allowed to proceed to the reservoir by Deputy
Superintendent of Police (CoD) Mallikarjunappa.
Chandrashekariah, who is in-charge of the four major
reservoirs in the southern region, was left fuming.
Deve
Gowda wants State to act within legal framework:
Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda stressed the need
to resolve the Cauvery crisis within the legal framework
as the final orders of the Tribunal was expected soon. He
asked political parties to act with caution. Gowda said
when the State Government had agreed to release 9,000
cusecs of water before the Cauvery Authority; it was only
proper to "act within the legal frame work".
Gowda said his "party did not want to politicize the
issue by putting the government in a difficult
position".
Central
team justifies skipping of visit to Mettur:
The Cauvery Monitoring Committee team, led by Union Water
Resources secretary AK Goswami, has said that they would
collect technical details on the availability of water at
Mettur reservoir from the Central Water Commission office
at Bhiligundu, Tamil Nadu. Regarding the Central water
Commission skipping its visit to Tamil Nadu, he said the
figures and details were already available with the
Central Water commission. When asked how the Central team,
which visited all the four reservoirs in the cauvery basin
could analyze the situation in the Cauvery delta region in
Tamil Nadu by skipping the visit to Mettur dam, he said
the team had figures and reports available from local CWC
offices, in Tamil Nadu. They would study this and present
a report to the Union Government.
Submit
report only after visiting Mettur, farmers tell team:
The fact that the Central cauvery Monitoring Committee
team would be skipping its visit to Mettur reservoir and
the Delta region has raised many eyebrows here. Though
farmers in Krishnarajasagar and Kabini "achukats"
were not against the visit of the Central team, sent to
study the water level and situation in achukat, they have
expressed their reservations over the fact that the team
would not be visiting Mettur. Farmers fear that the
experts report, without firsthand information from the
lower riparian State, would be against the interests of
Karnataka farmers.
Rains
down by 45 pc, farmers ask team for favorable report:
Leaders of various farmers' organizations, including the
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, have urged the Central team
to protect the interests of farmers in Kabini achukat,
which covers Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts. Leaders
from Kabini achukat came out with technical details,
including the availability of water, before the Central
team. Farmers said they were demanding water only for one
crop grown in 1.13 lakh hectares, as they had lost both
their cotton and ragi crops due to the failure of monsoon.
Former MLA and Janata Dal (S) leader Krishnappa said the
State Government had failed to present the ground
realities and the hardships faced by farmers here before
the Supreme Court and the Cauvery River Authority.
Equipment
to measure water level to be updated:
The Irrigation Department has forwarded a proposal to the
Government to update the reservoir level measuring system.
Irrigation engineers, refusing to be quoted, said the move
was a sequel to the observation made by Union Water
Resource secretary AK Goswami regarding the outdated
measuring equipment here. It may be recalled that Goswami
had pointed out that the existing method of measuring the
water level at Krishnarajasagar reservoir was outdated.
According to engineers, the present method of measuring
was as old as the KRS dam. The dam was built in 1932. The
present method adopted at KRS requires the personnel to
physically climb down the reservoir and check the level
against the gauge which resembles a scale.
Cauvery
activists ransack irrigation office yet again:
Cauvery Action Committee activists stormed the Irrigation
department office for the second day on Friday and went on
a rampage protesting against the failure of the engineers
to apprise the Cauvery Monitoring Committee of the correct
water level in the reservoir. Around 50 members entered
the irrigation office building and ransacked the office.
Lathicharge
at KRS over release of water into canal:
Tension prevailed for sometime at Krishnarajasagar
reservoir when thousands of farmers laid siege to the dam
and went on a rampage braving police lathicharge and tear
gar shells on Friday. The farmers were protesting against
the stopping of the release of water for irrigation into
Chikkadevanala canal. Thousands of farmers from Arakere,
Mandya Koplu, Madralli, Chinnegowdana Koplu and
surrounding villages came in trucks and laid siege to the
reservoir.
Correspondent
for OKC.
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