“Due to failure of monsoon, drought had been severe affecting agriculture”

Karnataka farmers have moved the Supreme Court challenging the direction given to the State by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as the head of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA), to release 9,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from September 20 to October 15. Suresh and three other farmers have, in a writ petition, said that this year due to failure of monsoon to the extent of 40 per cent, drought had been severe affecting half of the agricultural operations in the Cauvery basin of Karnataka.