The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu from the Cauvery river till September 27.
Hearing the Cauvery water dispute case, the apex court ordered that a Cauvery Water Management Board has to be constituted within four weeks. The board will oversee and manage allocation of the water, which has been a contentious issue between the two states.
Senior advocate Fali Nariman on Tuesday arguing on behalf of Karnataka told the Supreme Court that the state cannot release water to Tamil Nadu as per the allocations given in the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as this was a distress year.
Tight security was deployed in and around Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysuru district as the apex court took up the Cauvery water dispute. Protests broke out in pockets of Karnataka soon after the Cauvery Supervisory Committee ordered the state on Monday to release 3000 cusecs of water per day for 10 days to Tamil Nadu.
The committee ordered Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu between September 21 and September 30.
This was in addition to the total of 240,000 cusecs that the court had asked the state to release till September 20.
Protesters blocked roads at many places including Mandya, which was the epicentre of the agitation. Farmers reportedly blocked Mysuru-Bengaluru highway, reported ToI.
Section 144 has been imposed in Bengaluru city till September 25.
Over 1000 fire men have been deputed near Krishna Raja Sagara reservoir to avoid any untoward incident taking place, reported The New IndianExpress.
Mandya DC S Ziaullah declared a holiday for all educational institutions on September 20 as a precautionary measure.