K'taka: Farmer protests enter 11th day, agitators block Bengaluru-Mysuru highway

As the farmers' protest over water scarcity entered its eleventh day, protesters on Wednesday blocked the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway here.

Traffic between Bengaluru and Mysuru was badly hit as the agitating farmers put up a roadblock on the national highway demanding the immediate release of water from Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam.

The farmers said they wouldn't be able to pay loans if the water was not immediately released.

The farmers have been protesting since June 21, demanding diversion of Cauvery and Hemavati waters to their canals in order to save their standing crops.

Last week, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had shifted the onus to the Centre and asked it to direct the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to resolve the issue.

The CWMA had asked Karnataka to release 9.19 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) to lower riparian states for the month of June.

Tamil Nadu, which too has been grappling with water crisis had demanded in a CWMA meeting last week that 9.19 TMC feet of water should be released immediately in accordance with the recent decision of the committee.