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All-party meet on August 23 over Cauvery water release: Deputy CM
Amid attack from the Opposition, the Congress government has convened an all-party meeting on August 23 over the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu
Amid attack from the Opposition, the Congress government has convened an all-party meeting on August 23 over the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
“We have convened the all-party meeting to discuss the inter-state river disputes on Cauvery and Mahadayi. Chief minister Siddaramaiah will chair the meeting to be held in Vidhana Soudha at 11 am on Wednesday. Some members of parliament have also been invited. Several issues pertaining to the matter will be discussed,” deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who holds the water resources portfolio, said on Sunday.
Last week, following Tamil Nadu approaching the Supreme Court, Shivakumar had on Tuesday said Karnataka would release 10 tmc ft of water from the Kaveri basin to the neighbouring state.
Karnataka has been maintaining that it will be able to release water to Tamil Nadu taking into account its needs like drinking water and standing crops in the Kaveri basin areas citing scarcity due to deficit monsoon rains.
Shivakumar said the Karnataka government had already written to the Kaveri Water Management Authority (CWMA) requesting it to review the order directing the state to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu on a daily basis for the next 15 days.
The state government on Saturday, directed the Advocate General to file the state’s appeal before the Supreme Court on Monday regarding the release of Cauvery river
“We have left it to the Advocate General how to fight the legal battle. It has not rained properly this year. So, it is our duty to look after the welfare of our state and the farmers. We are filing a petition in the Supreme Court tomorrow. We have already requested the authority to review the decision to release water,” Shivakumar said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the state BJP has called for a Bengaluru-Mysuru highway bandh on Monday to protest against the Congress government’s decision to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
Former chief ministers HD Kumaraswamy and Basavaraj Bommai have criticised the government and accused it of betraying people for the sake of politics. The opposition has alleged that the Congress government is releasing water to help DMK, an ally in the newly-formed opposition block INDIA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“If the State government releases Cauvery water just because they (DMK) are part of INDIA, farmers of Mandya and Mysuru and residents of Bengaluru will face shortage of drinking water in the coming days,” Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare Shobha Karandlaje said.
“At a time when our farmers are facing an acute water shortage, why is it necessary for us to satisfy the dictates of the Cauvery Water Management Board? Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court (seeking the release of Cauvery water). What is the Karnataka government’s position on this? Why are our Congress friends silent on this issue,” Kumaraswamy had questioned on Friday.
Meanwhile, several farmers were arrested and later released by the police for blocking the National Highway at T Narsipur on Saturday in protest. Leaders of the State Federation of Farmers’ Organisations and State Sugarcane Growers’ Association protested against the release of Cauvery water from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs to Tamil Nadu.
