Mandya: Alleging that the State Government was clandestinely releasing Cauvery water from the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam to Tamil Nadu even before the dam became full, farmers blocked the Mysuru-Bengaluru Highway for about 30 minutes this morning.

The road block resulted in huge pileup of traffic on the both sides of the busy four-lane State Highway and thousands of motorists had a tough time and they were clueless about reaching their destinations. The protesters were, however, evicted by the Police who restored the traffic. Security was tightened along the highway to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

According to farmers, water had just started flowing into the KRS Dam due to rains in Kodagu. Though the dam is yet to reach a comfortable water level, the government is releasing water to Tamil Nadu. On June 28, the outflow was 1,092 cusecs and yesterday, it went up to 1,140 cusecs. This morning, the outflow was recorded at 2,365 cusecs and this had enraged the farmers.

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha faction led by Shankaregowda blocked the highway at Sir M.V. Statue near the DC Office, demanding an immediate stop to water release. Another faction led by K.S. Puttannaiah led by Shambunahalli Suresh staged a demonstration in front of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam office at Sanjay Circle and blocked the road to register their protest.

In another protest, nearly 100 members of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike too staged a demonstration at Sir M.V. Statue. The activists after staging demonstration for some time took out a semi-nude procession in the main thoroughfares of the town in protest against the water release.