Fresh farmers’ protest brews over Cauvery Stage 6 | Mysuru News
Mandya: Even as controversy over the proposed Bidadi Township continues, the govt is facing fresh opposition from farmers over the proposed Cauvery 6th stage drinking water project, with organisations demanding its immediate withdrawal.The govt has approved the project, estimated at around Rs 6,939 crore, to supply additional drinking water to Bengaluru. However, farmer leaders in Mandya said it would severely affect irrigation in the Cauvery command area and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of farmers.A meeting organised by the Mandya District Farmers’ Interests Protection Committee was held at Gandhi Bhavan to discuss the project’s implications. Participants expressed concern that diverting additional water from the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) reservoir would worsen water scarcity, particularly in tail-end regions of Malavalli and Maddur taluks, which already struggle to receive adequate irrigation.Farmer representatives said the existing Cauvery drinking water projects (Stages 1 to 5) together utilise 29.1 TMC of water. The proposed Stage 6 would require an additional 6 TMC, taking the total allocation for Bengaluru’s drinking water supply to 35.1 TMC.Farmer leaders alleged the project would adversely affect agriculture and urged the govt to explore alternative sources to meet Bengaluru’s growing demand.Warning of intensified protests, farmer organisations said they would launch a large-scale agitation at the KRS dam if the govt proceeds without addressing their concerns.Resolution passedThe meeting strongly opposed the govt’s stance on projects to draw water from KRS for Bengaluru’s 6th stage and Mysuru’s Hale Hunduvadi projects.The project is highly detrimental to the agricultural livelihood of Mandya district.The meeting demanded that the govt formulate plans to supply water to Bengaluru through alternative systems, such as rainwater harvesting.Current and former elected representatives of Mandya district must take responsibility to ensure the 6th Stage water diversion project is dropped.An intense, large-scale protest will be launched near the KRS dam if the proposal is not dropped.
