Tuesday, farmers in Tamil Nadu obstructed railway tracks in an effort to get Karnataka, a bordering state, to release water from the Cauvery river.
The Thiruvarur district’s farmers, who have already planted paddy on over 80,000 acres of land, claim that the Mettur reservoir’s water level is dropping daily and jeopardising their crops.
At the Thiruvarur railway station, protesters from the Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, and Nagapattinam regions interfered with train operations.
PR Pandian, the head of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Organisation, was in charge of the demonstration.
PR Pandian said, ‘The Modi Government is simply watching farmers struggle with the cultivation of 15 lakh acres of sambha and 16 lakh acres of kuruvai crops. This can’t be allowed anymore. The Karnataka government is refusing to accept the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s suggestions. The Karnataka government is passing legislation illegally against the Supreme Court order.’
‘The Modi government is not condemning this and is not caring about Tamil Nadu farmers. The Union government should make the Karnataka government provide water and should not allow the construction of a dam in Mekedatu,’ Pandian added.
Additionally, he demanded Rs 10,000 in damages for each acre of lost crops for farmers.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have long fought over who gets to use the water that the Cauvery River provides for both of the states.
On Monday, the Cauvery Water Management Authority requested that Karnataka give Tamil Nadu another 15 days to get 5,000 cusecs of water.
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