Dharwad: Several cities and town in north Karnataka have been boiling with violent protests a day after Karnataka’s interim plea to Goa to release 7.5tmc to the state was rejected by the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal. Though both the state government and the central government were slammed by the angry protesters, BJP leaders hailing from Dharwad were directly targeted on the social media.

Twietterati reacted sharply to the verdict and targeted Dharwad MP and BJP leader Prahlad Joshi and HN Ananth Kumar from Dharwad for doing nothing in support of the water dispute. An obituary dedicated to Prahlad Joshi and Ananth Kumar too has been making rounds where the text reads that the great BJP leaders emulated themselves to death out of guilt in the Parliament premises after the Mahadayi verdict was out.

Protesters mostly from Dharwad, Gadag, and Belagavi districts which are believed to be the direct beneficiaries of the Mahadayi drinking water project tweeted that these leaders hailing from the same district did nothing though they could have influenced the central government. They also accused the leaders of using the water dispute issue for political gains.

Meanwhile, a shutdown was observed at Hubballi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri and Belagavi in the region with schools, colleges, shops and offices closed. Incidents of stone-throwing, burning of tyres and effigies and blocking of roads and highways by thousands of farmers, students and pro-Kannada activists were reported.

With farmers’ associations and pro-Kannada organisations staging demonstrations and protest rallies against the verdict, additional police forces were deployed in cities and towns across the region to maintain law and order and contain the agitation.

The Mahaydai Water Disputes Tribunal, headed by J.N. Panchal, on Wednesday rejected the state’s petition for 7.6 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water from the river, citing various grounds, including ecological damage the project may cause.