Cauvery: All party meet urges Karnataka govt not to release water to Tamil Nadu
Karnataka on Wednesday decided to fight back against the orders to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asserting his state has no water in the first place.
An all-party meeting, chaired by the CM, decided not to release water, even as it pledged its complete support to the government's efforts to protect Karnataka’s interests in Cauvery River water sharing. We unanimously decided not to release additional water from the Cauvery reservoir to Tamil Nadu,” BJP MP PC Mohan posted on X.
A new crisis has erupted for the southern state after the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) on Tuesday directed the state to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from Wednesday morning.
Cusec is a unit of flow equal to one cubic foot per second.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who also holds the water resources portfolio, would hold talks with Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and consult legal experts. The government would decide on complying with the latest direction only after that, official sources said.
The committee issued the direction to release water even after the state’s team of officials explained the water situation with figures.
No one could release water ignoring the lives and welfare of the state's own farmers, the CM said, briefing the media about the outcome of the all-party meeting. As Chief Minister, I admit providing water is difficult.”
Karnataka needed 70 tmc ft of water to save its standing crops in the Cauvery basin, another 33 tmc ft for drinking water and 3 tmc ft for industries.
