Tumakuru, 31 May

Members of BJP and farmer organisations on Saturday staged a massive protest against the Hemavathi Express Link Canal Project near Gubbi here, officials said.

Some of the protesters were detained by the police, they said.

MLAs who joined the protest include B Suresh Gowda, G B Jyothi Ganesh.

A group of seers from different religious Maths participated in the protest and were raising anti-government slogans. The protesters sat on the roads disrupting traffic. They also resorted to burning tyres. They the termed the government's plan to divert the Hemavathi canal water to neighboring Bengaluru South district (Ramanagara) despite public opposition as "unscientific".

The protesters claimed that this project will be detrimental to several taluks of Tumakuru district.