Tuesday saw a half-naked protest by farmers in Bengaluru in response to the ongoing Cauvery water-sharing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Farmers in Bengaluru demanded a bandh in response to the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA) decision to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. Only Freedom Park, according to Bengaluru police, has been given permission to protest.
“Farmers’ association members were detained at Mysore Bank Circle in Bengaluru after they staged a protest here,” Bengaluru police said.
On Monday, the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association under the leadership of Ayyakannu held a protest in Tamil Nadu’s Trichy by holding parts of the skeleton” human skeleton and demanded the sharing of Cauvery water. The protestors demanded the sharing of Cauvery water to save the standing ‘kuruvai’ crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu.
Bus services from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka have also been hampered. According to reports, several buses from Tamil Nadu were stopped at Zuzuvadi in the state’s Krishnagiri district. On the other hand, Bengaluru police claimed that they had put in place sufficient bandobast and that no farmer-related protest or procession would be permitted.