Cauvery protests cripple Mandya

The Cauvery agitation did not take a breather even on Gandhi Jayanti.

As protesters blocked the Mysore-Bangalore alternative route via Malavalli and Kanakapura, traffic between the state capital and the royal city was also affected on Tuesday.

Though Mandya and its taluks were fully affected by the two-day-old protests and road blocks against the release of water from the Krishnarajasagar (KRS) reservoir, launched by the Cauvery Rytha Hitarakshana Samithi, those travelling by road between Mysore and Bangalore chose the alternative Malavalli-Kanakapura route. Vehicular movement remained unaffected on this route during the last two days of the agitation. However, protesters on Tuesday blocked this route at some points, disrupting vehicular movement between the state headquarters and the heritage city.

Villagers at Gejjalagere in Mandya district continued the protest blocking the highway by cooking and serving food on the road. Trains, however, were not affected. Train services remained normal on Tuesday between Mysore and Bangalore, sources said.

In view of the call to lay siege to the KRS reservoir tomorrow to demand the stoppage of water to Tamil Nadu, which was released in accordance with the Supreme Court directive, prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been extended till October 4. The outflow of water from the reservoir was brought down to 5,000 cusecs this afternoon from yesterday’s 8,588 cusecs.