BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday clarified that the state government is not releasing water to Tamil Nadu as claimed by BJP leaders.
Asked about the BJP’s allegation that water has been released to the neighbouring state, he said, “The allegation is false.
There is no question of releasing water to Tamil Nadu. Water going to Tamil Nadu is accounted for. We have protected the farmers of the Cauvery basin area in the past. We are still doing it. Why should we release water to Tamil Nadu when they are not asking for it?
Supply of drinking water is the priority of our government.” He said the Mekedatu project is the only permanent solution to Bengaluru’s drinking water problems.
“Bengaluru has 13,900 registered borewells and of them, 6,900 have dried up. We have pressed tankers to supply water. We supply water to everyone, including industry and building construction. For this, an agreement will be signed with farmers of villages of Anekal and Bangalore South and their borewells will be used,” he said.
He lashed out at BJP for misleading the media on the water supply situation. “Why did the BJP government withdraw the grant of Rs 1,000 crore for the Mekedatu project? If the project is given permission, the problem will be solved. We can release water to Tamil Nadu as well,” he added.