Massive protests by thousands of people in Chennai should compel IPl organisers and the Union Government to take appropriate action. Till the Cauvery Management Board is constituted, the IPl’s venue should be shifted to some other place. On its part, the Government must lose no time to constitute the Board to enable Tamil Nadu's delta farmers get their share of water, as directed by the Supreme Court. Patches of empty chairs at the Chepakkam stadium spoke for itself. Cricket fans in Tamil Nadu must be commended for putting their empathy for farmers above entertainment. Self-respecting Tamils did not allow the multi-billion dollar game to take precedence over the demand to mitigate distress of farmers by making available to them their share of water.
In a democracy, it is important to not trample on the sentiment of the people, more so when it involves the farmers who feed the country. Organisers of IPl certainly lost the goodwill of the people of Tamil Nadu. There is a time and a place for everything. IPl is a carnival and its organisers should not have tried to impose it on Chennai at this juncture. Time is of the essence in constituting the Cauvery Management Board. Given the importance of the issue, the apex court could have directed the Union Government to lose no more time to do what it is constitutionally obliged to do, irrespective of its political fall-out. Cauvery is the lifeline of Tamil Nadu as it is of Karnataka and the implementation of a decision on it cannot be inordinately delayed for political reasons.