On Tuesday, former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy attacked the Congress government in the state for alleged detention of farmers and Kannada activists participating in the 'bandh' here to protest the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
The protesters and farmers should be released immediately, he added, adding that Cauvery water flow to Tamil Nadu should be stopped.
What are the Kannadigas protesting for the lifeline of Cauvery in Karnataka? He asked why he was asked by Kumaraswamy.
Kumaraswamy said that the ongoing Cauvery crisis was the result of the Congress party becoming the DMK's 'B' team.
The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the Cauvery Water Management Authority's order, directing Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs until 27 September.
Karnataka has been complying with the order despite pressure and protests from political parties, farmers' outfits and other groups.
Due to the failure of the south-west monsoon this year, there is no sufficient storage in the identified/designated four reservoirs of the Cauvery basin in Karnataka and the state is experiencing such a grave situation that it is extremely difficult even to cater to the drinking water requirements let alone supplying for irrigation.
This year, the rainfall in Karnataka in August and September is the lowest in the last 123 years.
The combined storage available as on 23 September in all the four reservoirs of Cauvery basin in Karnataka is only 51.10 TMC, while the requirement for standing crops and drinking water is 112 TMC.