Farmers in Vijayanagara district have decided to blockade the Tungabhadra Dam and shut down the National Highway on November 16 in protest against the decision to stop water release from the Tungabhadra reservoir to canals starting November 15. Purushottam Gowda, president of the Tungabhadra Farmers’ Association, issued this warning after submitting a representation to the Executive Engineer of the Tungabhadra Project Circle at the Karnataka State Irrigation Corporation in Munirabad, Koppal district, on Thursday. He stated that while the Irrigation Advisory Committee meeting had decided to release water until November 20, a request has already been made to extend the release until November 30 to protect the growing paddy crop.
Farmers to blockade Tungabhadra Dam and National Highway on November 16 over water release halt