Under the leadership of Ayyakannu, the National South Indian River Interlinking Farmers Association staged a half-naked protest on Monday in Tamil Nadu's Trichy by holding parts of the human skeleton and demanded the sharing of Cauvery water. In order to save the standing 'kuruvai' crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu, the protestors demanded the sharing of Cauvery water.
Half-naked protest by farmers
The visuals from Trichy showed the protestors raising slogans demanding the release of water from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu and saving farmers. "We have been protesting here for the last 54 days because the central government hasn't given us profitable prices for our crops," said a protesting farmer to the news agency PTI. Earlier, on Sunday, a group of farmers in Trichy staged a protest by standing in the Cauvery River water over the ongoing dispute with Karnataka.
Protest in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
Both states have witnessed protests after Karnataka stiffened its stance on sharing Cauvery water, citing severe drought in some sections of the state. The Karnataka government was then given a directive by the Cauvery water management body to provide 5,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, a neighbouring state. However, the court turned down the Tamil Nadu government's request to enhance its daily allocation of Cauvery water from 5,000 to 7,200 cusecs.
What Karnataka CM said on the matter?
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said the farmers have the right to protest but political parties were fanning the people's anger. " In a democracy, there is an opportunity to protest. We are not going to disrupt the protest. But the BJP-JDS party is playing politics in this. There is a hearing before the Supreme Court tomorrow regarding the Cauvery issue. Our lawyers will present a competent argument" said Siddaramaiah. The opposition BJP and JDS have alleged that CM Siddaramaiah has failed in Cauvery river water protection. In his response, the Karnataka CM said he was bound by the order of the top court.
It should be mentioned here that Tamil Nadu has sought fresh directions for the release of Cauvery River water from Karnataka, claiming that the neighbouring State had changed its stand, and had released a reduced quantum of water as against what was agreed upon earlier.
(With inputs from agencies)
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