Expressing his solidarity with the people of the Cauvery basin, External Affairs minister S.M. Krishna on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately stop further release of water from the Cauvery to Tamil Nadu.
In a letter, copies of which were released here on Saturday, Mr Krishna, who, is on a visit to the US, noted that the situation was “grim” in the Cauvery delta. He also asked the PM to seek a report from the team that has been deputed to assess the water situation. The senior Congress leader, who is from Maddur in Mandya district, said the situation was bad in Bengaluru too due to the depleted water level in dams after release of water. The South-West monsoon in the state had petered out while the North-East monsoon will commence in Tamil Nadu and that state has the prospect of adequate rains.
No entry to Mandya, BSY told
In a huge blow to former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was banking on the Cauvery agitation to boost his political fortunes, Cauvery Hitarakshana Samiti chairman G. Madegowda on Saturday had to reject the Lingayat strongman’s plea of joining the agitation following a thumbs down by the farmers, whose cause the BJP leader had always claimed he espoused. Mr Yeddyurappa had written a letter to Mr. Madegowda seeking permission to participate in the one-day hunger strike as part of Cauvery protests in Mandya. The content of the letter was read out by Mr. Madegowda on Saturday morning to the protesters. The resounding thumbs-down ended Mr. Yeddyurappa’s hopes of joining the Cauvery agitation with Mr Madegowda politely conveying the message that he was advised against stepping into Mandya.