CHENNAI: The proposed August 3 meeting in Bengaluru between Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and his Karnataka counterpart D K Shivakumar on the Cauvery water release remains on track, according to a senior official, despite opposition parties and farmer bodies urging the TN government to cancel or reconsider the engagement citing various reasons.
When questioned on speculations about the TN government reconsidering the proposed meeting between the two CMs, a senior official said, “The August 3 meeting stands” and declined to elaborate further.
Meanwhile, the pre-budget consultative meeting in Chennai on Monday witnessed differences of opinion among the representatives of farmers over the Tamil Nadu CM holding talks with his Karnataka counterpart as well as the demand for forming a separate tribunal for adjudicating the Mekedatu dam dispute.
The meeting was attended by 10 ministers, including Agriculture Minister R Vinoth.
Two representatives of farmers urged the TN government not to hold talks with Karnataka on the Cauvery water release and that the demand for forming a tribunal for adjudicating the Mekedatu dam dispute should be given up.
A farmers’ representative from the delta region said there should be no tribunal for the Mekedatu dispute and that talks should not be held on the Cauvery water row. However, another farmer representative from the same region described the Cauvery Water Management Authority as a toothless forum and supported the unanimous resolution adopted by the Assembly seeking a tribunal for the Mekedatu dispute.
Another representative defended the CM’s imminent talks with Karnataka, by saying, “What is happening now is nothing more than political drama. Therefore, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Tamil Nadu CM meeting the Karnataka CM for direct talks,” he added.