MASSIVE PROTEST IN TUMAKURU AGAINST DKS' PET WATER PROJECT

Somanna: Diverting Hemavathi waters to B'luru South unscientific; Work won't stop: DKS

- DEVARAJ B HIREHALLI @Tumakuru/Bengaluru

TENSION prevailed at Sunkapura in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district after a protest against Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's pet project of "diverting" the Hemavathi river waters from Tumakuru canal to Ramanagara district intensified at the project site on Saturday.

The agitators, numbering over 5,000, including farmers, led by BJP MLA B Suresh Gowda, JDS MLA MT Krishnappa, and several religious heads, blocked the road. They set tyres on fire and deflated the tyres of several KSRTC buses on the Bengaluru-Shivamogga highway. The police took hundreds of agitators into custody for violating the prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS.

The incident forced Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to intervene and suggest to Tumakuru district in-charge minister Dr G Parameshwara, also the Home Minister, to resolve the issue. Parameshwara later held talks with Shivakumar, who is also Water Resources Minister, on the sidelines of the DCs and zilla panchayat CEOs meeting in Bengaluru.