Bengaluru: It is a set back again to Karnataka. The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu per day from September 21 to 27. The state government approached the Supreme Court challenging Cauvery Supervisory Committee’s order of releasing 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery per day for 10 days. The Cauvery Supervisory Committee meet was held on Monday.

The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to constitute Cauvery Water Management Board within four weeks. The Cauvery Water Management Board has to decide sharing of Cauvery water. The next hearing  on Cauvery water dispute will be held in Supreme Court on September 27.

It may be recalled the Supreme Court on September 5 had directed the state government to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu for 10 days when Karnataka’s counsel Fali S Nariman filed an affidavit to release 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. On September 12, the Supreme Court has modified its earlier order by ordering the state government to release 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery water  per day till September 20.

Meanwhile, the activists of Cauvery Farmers’ Rights Protection Committee and other pro-Kannada and pro-farmer associations have intensified agitation protesting the Supreme Court ordering Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The police have beefed up security in Bengaluru, Mandya, Ramanagaram and Mysuru. The police have also banned the sale of liquor in Mysuru and Bengaluru till midnight on Tuesday.

The government has deployed 15,000 policemen, 30 platoons of City Armed Reserve police,  114 quick response teams, 270 hoysala vehicles apart from  16 companies of central forces, including three companies of Shashtra Seema Bal, three companies of Border Security Force, were deployed to maintain law and order. The police have installed 320 surveillance cameras at sensitive areas to monitor the situation.