A day of dissent in Mysuru: Three protests held across city

Mysuru: The spirit of rebellion was nigh palpable in the air in the city on Wednesday – three protests, two of which were held to fight a common cause, were held across Mysuru. While former MLA and chief of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal paksha Vatal Nagaraj held a demonstration at the Mysuru City railway Station demanding cancellation of the deeds pledging 3,000 acres to Jindal Steel in Ballari, farmers raised their voice against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and finally, gram panchayat employees held an agitation, seeking an end to the uncertainty hanging over their careers.
Nagaraj dubbed the Karnataka cabinet’s decision to hand over more than 3,000 acres in Ballari ‘unfortunate’. “The state government must redact this decision,” said Nagaraj, urging the government, in the same vein, not to release water to the Cauvery. The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal has asked Karnataka to release more than 9tmcft to the neighbouring state.
“I was against the formation of any sort of tribunal or authority, vested with the rights to decide the sharing of the Cauvery waters. But the state government agreed to this. Now, the state government must protect the interests of the farmers,” said Nagaraj.
Echoing Nagaraj’s sentiments, activists of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) and Hasiru Sene protested in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue. KRRS president Badagalapura Nagendra, who led the protest, said, “The whole of South Karnataka is grappling with drought. This is the harsh reality. It is really unfortunate that the state has been asked to release water to Tamil Nadu under such circumstances.”
The Karnataka cabinet’s decision to give away 3,666 acres to Jindal in Ballari, Nagendra said, exposed the true intentions of the state government. “This government is not helping the government. It is only interested in extending benefits to multi-national companies,” Nagendra.
Members of the Karnataka State Gram Panchayat Employees’ Association gathered in front of the zilla panchayat office, demanding the fulfillment of their longstanding demands, which include job security and awarding of promotions. The members of the association took out a rally from Basaveshwara Circle as part of the protest. The protest was led by the association president K Basavaraju, along with general secretary TS Dinesh.
Lashing out at the administration, Dinesh said that GP employees were denied even basic amenities. “The rural development and panchayat raj department must take cognisance of our problems, and fulfill our demands at the earliest,” said Dinesh.