As it became very much political ahead of Assembly polls in Karnataka, the agitating farmers who are protesting to get drinking water from Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of river Mahadayi (Mandovi) for north Karnataka districts have set a deadline of a month till January 2018 to the political parties to resolve the issue. The farmers who were agitating in front of BJP office for the past five days have submitted a memorandum to the Governor Vajubhai Vala seeking his intervention to resolve the issue asking for water to flow into the parched Bombay- Karnataka region before the end of January 2018.
The IT city Bengaluru witnessed protest rallies on Wednesday which threw traffic out of gear putting normal life into jeopardy. The BJP took to protest in front of the Congress party office against politicising Mahadayi issue. The BJP leaders blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Government for politicising water sharing issue from Mahadayi with neighbouring Goa instead of resolving the issue. A large number of BJP workers led by former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashok and BJP MP Shoba Karandlaje courted arrest in front of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office in Bengaluru when they protested against what they termed the anti farmer attitude of the Siddaramaiah Government. Police prevented the BJP workers from storming into the Congress office by removing the barricades.
At the same venue police baton charged members of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) who were holding a counter agitatation to the one held by the BJP. Speaking to media Mahadayi Horata Samithi President Viresh Sobaradmath said “we have set January as deadline for all the three Political parties — Congress, BJP and JD(S) to arrive at a solution and take us to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold talks with him on the issue.” “We have also warned that agitation will be staged in front of Chief Minister’s residence if the issue was not taken seriously and no step is coming forward to solve the issue,” Sobaradmath added.
Meanwhile most parts of parts of Northern Karnataka on Wednesday observed a peaceful yet total bandh as farmers set January 2018 deadline for political parties to resolve the vexed Mahadayi river water sharing row with Goa. Offices and educational institutions in Northern Karnataka districts were closed even as transport services were off the road. Roads were blocked at several points and protesters had set fire to tyres to prevent any movement. No untoward incident was reported, police said.
The three decade old Mahadayi row was now being heard before a river water dispute Tribunal which had directed the States of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa to arrive at an amicable solution to the demand of Karnataka to draw 7.56 tmc ft of water from the river for drinking water purposes of three parched districts. Goa had not positively responded for a meeting of Chief Ministers to find a solution. Recently the issue came up at a meeting held by BJP President Amit Shah with him Karnataka BJP had sought to direct Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to meet the drinking water requirement. Parrikar in a letter to Yeddyurappa had stated that his State might consider release of water, but had not given any specific approval. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written a letter to his Goa counterpart to immediately convene a meeting of Chief Ministers of Mahadayi riparian States to resolve the issue as directed by the Tribunal.
Meanwhile dismissing the BJP’s charge Siddaramaiah said that the congress will not seek any political gain out of Mahadayi issue. He said “The farmers are agitating as BJP State President BS Yeddyurappa failed to keep up his promise and my Government is doing its best to resolve the issue. “The BJP State chief has failed to convince Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President Amit Shah and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and resolve the issue, he added.”