War for Water: Huge Protests by Farmers in Gangavati Block NH for 8 Hours

Gangavati: More than 10,000 farmers staged huge protests and blocked national highway in Gangavati on Wednesday for more than 8 hours to urge the state government to release water from Tungabhadra reservoir through canals for irrigation.

The farmers said that the state government’s decision to not to release water from the dam is irrational even if the reservoir has a water storage of 50 TMC. Last year, the authorities released water from same dam even if the water level stood at 39 TMC. The protesters also alleged that the state government officials including ministers made a conspiracy and decided not to release water for irrigation. Meanwhile, the protesters also alleged that, the authorities have been releasing water from the reservoir to the industries favouring the business class in the region.