Udhagamandalam: Tamil Manila Congress cadre staged a protest in front of the Karnataka Siri Horticulture Garden (KSHG) located near the Ooty lake here on Friday demanding that the garden run by the Karnataka government should be closed till the Cauvery management board (CMB) is formed.
The Tamil Nadu government should acquire the park and rename it as Tamil Nadu Garden, state youth wing president of the party M Yuvaraja said.
“There are over 20 districts in Tamil Nadu, which Karnataka has denied water for farming as well as for drinking. Cauvery water is our right. Karnataka government and the central government are not respecting the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he told TOI.
Tamil Nadu government has committed a blunder by giving NOC to the Karnataka horticulture department for developing this garden, Yuvaraja said. “This protest in Ooty is a part of our state-wide protest for Cauvery water. We are not against the people of Karnataka, who are residing in Tamil Nadu. We are taking our protest for Cauvery water in a peaceful way,” he said.
The floral garden, extending to an area of 38 acres, has been open for public since last January. Located at Fern Hill at the west end of Ooty, the garden was once owned by the maharaja of Mysore.