BENGALURU: As drought intensifies water worries for both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, an official delegation from TN met officials from Karnataka on Saturday, seeking release of Cauvery water.
The Karnataka delegation was headed by the Chief Secretary Subhash Kuntia and also represented by Principal Secretary-II Tushar Girinath and Principal Secretary (Water Resources) Rakesh Singh.
The TN delegation headed by Secretary-II to CM, Shiv Das Meena, sought release of 3tmcft of Cauvery water on humanitarian grounds for supplying drinking water.
Kuntia, who spoke to reporters after the 90-minute meeting, said the Tamil Nadu delegation only requested the release of water and had not asked the State to implement the Tribunal’s order on release of Cauvery water. “But we are in trouble too and require whatever water we have to supply drinking water during summer months. We told them it is really difficult to release the water. We explained the reality and storage levels in our dams,” he said.
Kuntia further said the four dams on the Cauvery basin had 8.8tmcft of live storage and the requirement of the Mysuru belt for drinking water was 3.3tmcft per month. “However, if we receive rains, then we might be able to release water,” he added.
A member from the Tamil Nadu team said they had come to seek release of water for drinking purposes in view of the unprecedented drought conditions. “They were very receptive, but expressed that they too are facing extreme water stress. They have promised to consider our request if situation permits,” he said.
Meena was accompanied by PWD Secretary S K Prabhakar, Cauvery Technical Cell Chairman R Subramanian and Municipal Administration and Water Supply Secretary K Phanindra Reddy.