Tamil Nadu parties oppose IPL matches in Chennai over Cauvery issue

Political parties in Tamil Nadu have opposed the Indian Premier League cricket matches in Chennai, saying the organisers should consider the plight of farmers and protests over the Centre’s delay in constituting a board to resolve the decades-old Cauvery water-sharing dispute with the state’s neighbour.

The city will be hosting IPL matches after two years, with home side Chennai Super Kings pitted against Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chepauk on April 10.Seven IPL matches are scheduled to be held in the Tamil Nadu capital between April 10 and May 20.

The enthusiasm over the domestic T-20 league is high as about 10,000 fans crowded Chepauk on Friday to watch home team captain MS Dhoni and his men train for their game on April 10.

But protests over the delay in forming a Cauvery Management Board (CMB) could water down the excitement. Opposition DMK working president MK Stalin asked the IPL organisers to take an “appropriate decision” after considering the plight of the farmers in Tamil Nadu and how the Union government “was playing politics over Cauvery”.

“We are not against IPL matches, but the organisers should understand the problems of the people and act accordingly,” Stalin clarified and said more opposition parties also against the game in such a scenario.

Rebel AIADMK faction leader TTV Dhinakaran was more straightforward in his remarks as he appealed to the people to boycott IPL matches in Chennai to put pressure on the Union government to consitutute teh Cauvery board.

“It is clear that the BJP government was disregarding the plight of Tamil Nadu,” Dhinakaran said appealing to the people who booked seats for IPL matches to return their tickets in support of the striking farmers.

According to a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official, who doesn’t want to be named, there is no change in the IPL schedule.

The cricket matches came under risk because of the volatile situation in the state, but state fisheries minister D Jayakumar told reporters that the Tamil Nadu government will to provide security, if the IPL authorities request for it.

The DMK convened an all-party meeting, minus the ruling AIADMK, the BJP and AIADMK rebels , to chalk out the course of action on the Cauvery dispute. It was decided that a “Cauvery retrieval march” will be organised from Tiruchirapalli to Cuddalore from April 7 in two phases.

It will be a peaceful Gandhian march to highlight the farmers’ woos and draw attention of the Union government , a senior DMK leader said on condiction of anonymity.

Farmer leaders, including P Ayyakannu, buried themselves till their necks in hot sand in Tiruchirapalli on Friday as a mark of protest over what they called the Centre’s failure to set up the CMB in accordance with a recent Supreme Court order.

“We want to die, Sir. We are in the hot sand and hot sun. We want to die as there is no water for us. Without water there is no life for us,” Ayyakannu said.

The Cauvery, which originates in Karnataka and flows into Tamil Nadu, has been the source of a bitter dispute as farmers in both states depend on the 800km river. A British-era treaty governs water sharing between the two states, but Karnataka demands a tripling of its share. The row flares up when monsoon fails, as it did in 2016 when Karnataka was reluctant to release water to its neighbour because of scanty rainfall.

The Supreme Court asked the Centre to form the CMB in a February 16 ruling this year to implement a formula for sharing Cauvery water among the two states. The top court reduced Tamil Nadu’s share in the Cauvery water to 177.25 thousand million cubic feet, triggering protests in the southern state.