Cauvery River water row: Protests continue, JDS MP, 4 MLAs resign

BANGALORE: Protests against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu continued for the second day today with authorities deciding to deploy Rapid Action Force to maintain peace in Mandya, the epi-centre of the stir, even as four JDS MLAs and an MP submitted resignations to the party state unit chief to protest the government action.

Lending their political might to the agitation, the four JDS MLAs and an MP submitted resignations to H D Kumaraswamy to protest the BJP government's action to release water complying with a Supreme Court order.

Authorities said they have decided to deploy RAF to assist police in the wake of escalating protests.

More than 100 people were arrested at Gejjalagere in Mandya district, the hotbed of Cauvery politics, when they blocked the Shirdi express train, police said.

Protests continued in Mysore, Chamarajanagar and Mandya, the Cauvery basin districts. Vehicular movement on the Bangalore-Mysore road was hit for the third day, police said.

JDS Lok Sabha member from Mandya N Cheluvarayaswamy and its four MLAs from Mandya district -- Kalpana Siddaraju, C S Puttaraju, M Srinivas and A B Ramesh Bandisidddegowda submitted their resignation letters to Kumaraswamy.