Amid growing resentment among farmers over the denial of water for standing crops, hundreds of farmers took out a march from Gun House Circle to the CADA office here on Monday, demanding an immediate halt to the release of water from the Kabini dam to Tamil Nadu.
The protest was organised by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and led by its president Badagalapura Nagendra. Carrying green flags, the farmers marched through the city, raising slogans against the government for releasing water to Tamil Nadu while farmers in the Kabini command area are awaiting water to save their standing crops.
“It seems the Kabini dam has been constructed for Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru city. Thousands of acres of farmland, over 20,000 acres of forest land and more than 33 tribal settlements were sacrificed for constructing the dam. Even today, the affected people have not been suitably rehabilitated,” claimed Mr. Nagendra, while interacting with reporters.
Demanding water for standing crops in the Kabini command area, Mr. Nagendra said the farmers had urged the government to fill tanks and release water for irrigation when the dam reached its full reservoir level a few weeks ago.
The farmers’ leader warned that the agitation would be intensified if water was not released from the dam immediately to save the standing crops.
Published – August 24, 2026 08:33 pm IST
