Mandya farmers protest over water crisis enters 4th day, Kumaraswamy asks Centre to intervene

As farmers protest over water entered the fourth day, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Monday shifted onus to the Centre and asked it to direct the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to resolve the issue.

Farmers in Mandya have been demanding diversion of Cauvery and Hemavati waters to their canals in order to save their produce.

"Now the Central government has already constituted Cauvery Water Management Authority which had asked Karnataka government to release 9 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu," Kumaraswamy told ANI.

"There is a shortage of water in Karnataka. The central government has to take the decision. They have to direct authority. It is not in my hands," he said.

Earlier in the day, Deputy CM G Parameshwara met the farmers who have been protesting since Friday.

Tamil Nadu, which too has been grappling with the scarcity of water, on Thursday demanded that 9.19 TMC feet of water should be released immediately in accordance with the recent decision of the CWMA.

Participating in a meeting of the committee, chaired by its head Naveen Kumar, officials from Tamil Nadu said the Cauvery Water Management Board on May 21 had recommended release of 9.19 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic) feet of water without delay.