Kannada Activists Protest at Attibele Over Cauvery Water Release to Tamil Nadu

Kannada Jagruthi Vedike activists staged a protest at Attibele on the Karnataka Tamil Nadu border as Karnataka observed a bandh over the Cauvery water dispute.

The demonstration was led by the organisation’s state president Manjunath Deva. Activists gathered at the Attibele toll area and marched towards the border tower, where they held a protest and raised slogans over the long running dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The protesters’ main demand was that Karnataka should not release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. They said the state’s own water requirements and interests must be given priority while decisions are taken on the sharing of the river’s water.

The activists also demanded that the Mekedatu project be taken up and implemented without further delay.

Mekedatu has remained a contentious issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka has proposed the project as a major water and power initiative, while Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed it.

During the Attibele protest, members of the Kannada Jagruthi Vedike criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s opposition to the project and called for Karnataka to move ahead with it at the earliest.

The location of the demonstration brought the Cauvery dispute directly to the state border. Activists marched from the toll area to the border tower before staging the protest.

The demonstration formed part of the wider bandh observed across Karnataka over the Cauvery water issue. Several Kannada organisations used the bandh to press the state government to protect Karnataka’s share of Cauvery water.

The Kannada Jagruthi Vedike reiterated its two main demands during the protest. It called for an end to the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and urged the government to begin the Mekedatu project without further delay.