Cauvery cauldron: Put pressure on ally Congress-led Karnataka, farmers tell DMK

CHENNAI: Criticising state government for holding an all-party meeting without farmers’ representatives, various farmers’ associations on Tuesday said it is reprehensible. The all-party (legislature) meeting was just politics gimmicks without inviting farmers’ representatives, they said.

According to Arupathy S Kalyanam, general secretary of Federation of Farmers’ Associations, the state government and politicians’ first mistake was to treat Cauvery water dispute issue as a political issue rather than a livelihood problem of farmers. We should have been heard at least before the crucial all party meeting, he said.

Flaying CM Stalin-led government’s decision following the all-party meeting, Kalyanam said, “Instead of approaching the Supreme Court against Karnataka’s refusal to release due water share to Tamil Nadu, the Stalin-led DMK government should take steps to create political crisis and mount pressure on its ally Congress.”

“While the Congress from INDIA bloc alliance is ruling Karnataka, the DMK, which is its closest ally, should politically give due pressure to the Congress government and take steps to uphold the rights of Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery water issue,” he told DT Next.

“Is Karnataka a state in India that does not respect the Supreme Court or the CWMA? Or an independent country out of India? he questioned.

The Mayiladuthurai farmer also said, “Thirty four per cent (34%) of the Cauvery basin is in Tamil Nadu. But, the Cauvery basin covers only 17 per cent of Karnataka. But, there, the Cauvery issue is seen as a state-wide problem. But, the political parties here are doing politics with the farmers’ livelihood issue.”

EV Elankeeran, president of the Federation of Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Association told this newspaper that due to insufficient water from Cauvery, the cultivation of kuruvai in the Delta has fallen by 30 per cent of the average.

“While Samba cultivation is to start from August, the state government should have initiated steps to secure Tamil Nadu’s due share in the Cauvery to protect the livelihood of the farmers,” Elankeeran said alluding to the all-party meeting’s decision to move the apex court.

“However, Karnataka will not heed to any kind of legal pressure. When there is a DMK-friendly government in Karnataka, the Stalin-led state government should try to get TN’s share through talks along with its legal battle,” he opined.

State should initiate legal proceedings against the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) which failed to implement its order so that there would be a solution, said Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Association general secretary, PR Pandian on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters in Thanjavur, Pandian who lauded the initiation of all party meetings by the state, filing a case against Karnataka with the apex court, said, the state government with the announcement of all party meeting showcased the unity of the people on Cauvery issue.

Delta farmers stage rail roko

Meanwhile, farmers from various associations staged a rail roko protest across the region and they were arrested en masse on Tuesday. As a part of ongoing protests, on Tuesday, the farmers from various associations organised rail roko protest across the Delta region. In Thanjavur, the Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee members led by the Coordinator P Maniarasan staged besiege protest in the Water Resource Superintendent Engineer office. The police who were on duty arrested around 150 farmers.

Subsequently, a section of farmers organised a rail roko in Tiruchy, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai districts.