BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said the state government will appeal to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to reconsider its decision directing Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs water to Tamil Nadu daily for 15 days.
The government is also considering convening an all-party meeting to discuss the issue, he said. Shivakumar’s statement comes after Opposition BJP and JDS as well as farmers’ organisations slammed the government for releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and not protecting the interests of farmers in the state.
Shivakumar, who is also the Minister for Water Resources, said there is scarcity of water due to rain deficit. “Still, we released water to Tamil Nadu. But they (Tamil Nadu) are not satisfied. The inflow into our reservoirs is poor in view of the weak monsoon. The situation is such that we have to save water even for drinking purposes. Hence, we will request the CWMA to reconsider its decision,” Shivakumar said.
Govt mulls all-party meet on Cauvery
On JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy’s demand to convene an all-party meeting, Shivakumar said there is nothing wrong with his demand. “Not only Cauvery, issues such as Mahadayi and Krishna should also be discussed. We are thinking of calling an all-party meeting,” he added.
The Deputy CM said that BJP leader and former CM Basavaraj Bommai has written to the state government asking it not to release water to Tamil Nadu. “Even when his party was in power, water was released to Tamil Nadu in times of distress. Water was released even when HD Deve Gowda was the prime minister. There is no need to politicise the issue. Tamil Nadu is seeking release of water when we are in distress,” he said.