K’taka to fight Cauvery water release order: CM

Chief minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said the state government will move the Cauvery Water Management Authority after the Cauvery water regulation committee ordered the release of 3,500 cusecs a day for 15 days despite deficient rainfall across the state

Chief minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday said the state government will move the Cauvery Water Management Authority after the Cauvery water regulation committee ordered the release of 3,500 cusecs a day for 15 days despite deficient rainfall across the state.

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Speaking in New Delhi on Wednesday, Shivakumar said the government had begun preparing its appeal after consulting the Advocate General, legal experts and senior officials. He said the state’s legal strategy had also been discussed with water resources minister Ramalinga Reddy.

“The rain god has not been kind to us this time. Earlier, the CWRC had rejected Tamil Nadu’s request for the release of Cauvery water on two occasions. However, this time it has directed Karnataka to release water. We have discussed the legal options with minister Ramalinga Reddy and the officials concerned,” Shivakumar said.

The state maintains that implementing the committee’s order could require releasing nearly twice the stipulated 3,500 cusecs because of the dry riverbed before the water reaches Biligundlu, the interstate measuring point.

Shivakumar, who is in the national capital for consultations with the Congress leadership on Cabinet expansion, said he would discuss the matter with Opposition leaders after returning to Bengaluru.

He also confirmed that Tamil Nadu chief minister Joseph Vijay had sought a meeting with him. “Vijay has written to the Karnataka chief secretary and has also spoken to me over phone. I have extended him the respect he deserves and invited him to the meeting in Bengaluru. It is our duty to receive guests visiting our state with due courtesy, and all necessary arrangements have been made to receive him,” he said.

Shivakumar said he had urged Vijay to inspect conditions in Karnataka’s Cauvery basin before taking a view on the dispute. “We have requested Vijay to personally assess the situation in the Cauvery basin of Karnataka that is reeling under drought. I have also informed him that the government will make the necessary arrangements for his aerial visit. He should witness the ground realities himself. Let us see what decision he takes,” he said.

The committee’s order triggered protests across Karnataka, with demonstrators arguing that the state could not spare water while concerns over drinking water availability persisted. Agitations were reported in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagara.

Members of a faction of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike led by Shivarame Gowda, along with other pro Kannada organisations led by Sa Ra Govindu, gathered near the Kuvempu statue in Bengaluru’s Malleswaram carrying empty pots and raising slogans against the committee’s direction. Police erected barricades, deployed BMTC buses and detained several protesters before shifting them from the venue. Several activists were later taken into preventive custody.

Calling the committee’s direction “an unscientific order”, Govindu said: “It has been nearly two months since the monsoon season began, yet not a single drop of water has flowed into the KRS dam. Today, people are struggling even for drinking water. There is no water for livestock or agriculture.”

Questioning the volume ordered for release, he said: “Directing Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water every day for 15 days amounts to about 4.5 TMC of water. Where are we supposed to bring this water from?”

Govindu said Karnataka could not release “even a drop” of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu under the present conditions. “We stand with the farmers of Mandya. I appeal to all Kannadigas across Karnataka to condemn this unscientific order,” he said.

Shivarame Gowda said the committee had failed to consider conditions on the ground. “Without understanding the ground realities, they have delivered an unscientific order. We, the people of Karnataka and our farmers, condemn this decision,” he said, urging the government to protect the interests of Karnataka’s farmers.

Protesters warned that the demonstrations would intensify if the government proceeded with the release of water, saying Karnataka’s drinking water requirements should be considered before implementing the committee’s direction.

The BJP accused the Congress government of mishandling the dispute. Speaking in Shivamogga, state BJP president BY Vijayendra said lawyers representing Karnataka before the CWRC had failed to present comprehensive information on water availability in the state.

He said farmers across Karnataka, particularly in the Cauvery basin, were facing severe distress because of inadequate rainfall and alleged that the state government had released water to Tamil Nadu even before the CWRC issued its latest order.