Cauvery order: K'taka farmers to go on hunger strike

Farmers from Karnataka have decided to sit on an indefinite hunger strike at the Krishna Raja Sagar dam near Mysore from Thursday to protest the release of Cauvery River's water to Tamil Nadu.

The Union government has assured them that an expert team will be sent to both states to study the issue.

The indefinite hunger strike, which was scheduled to commence on Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday. Thousands of farmers, led by their leader Made Gowda, will go on a hunger strike. They have demanded the reversal of the order of the Cauvery River Waters Authority, headed by the prime minister, which had ordered the release of water to Tamil Nadu.

The situation in the Mysore-Mandya belt remained grim on Wednesday. Vehicles were blocked and activists staged both rail and rasta roko programmes.

The state government, which has beefed up security in the area, had a tough time convincing the protestors. They expressed helplessness at the decision to release the water and stated that it was a pre-condition to them preferring an appeal before the Supreme Court.

The state government has urged the Union government to send an expert team to study the issue and reverse the order of the CRA. In addition, a detailed appeal is being prepared by Karnataka and it will move the Supreme Court soon against the CRA order.