Every drop counts: Farmers from the Bhadra command area protest near minister SS Mallikarjun’s residence in Davanagere on Monday
Farmer leader Tejaswi V Patel claimed that releasing 1 tmcft at this stage would severely impact tail-end farmers. He alleged that 3 tmcft had already been released under the guise of a trial run despite prevailing drought conditions and warned that there were plans to gradually deplete the reservoir.
Mallikarjun told the protesters that he too, was a tail-end farmer and understood their concerns. He said he had always stood by farmers and agreed that a trial release during drought conditions was unnecessary. The decision came after farmers staged a demonstration outside the minister’s residence in Davanagere, opposing the govt’s move and alleging that preparations were underway to release water under police protection. Before marching to the minister’s residence, farmers from Kariganur, Malebennur, Harihar, Channagiri and surrounding villages gathered near the Shamanur overbridge. They staged a sit-in after police stopped them with barricades.