BENGALURU: Farmer leaders from Karnataka on Monday met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) Chairman Saumitra Kumar Haldar in New Delhi, and apprised them of the prevailing situation in Karnataka.
They sought the Centre’s intervention in the Cauvery water-sharing issue, to protect the interests of farmers in Karnataka.
Kuruburu Shanthakumar, convenor, of Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti, who led the farmers’ delegation, said they had explained the ground realities to the minister as well as the CWMA chairman, and demanded that the release of water to Tamil Nadu should be stopped immediately. “Not only are Karnataka’s farmers in the Cauvery basin in distress, 1.3 crore residents of Bengaluru city who are dependent only on the Cauvery for drinking water, are staring at a crisis.
The state government has failed to conduct meetings with various stakeholders, including farmers and Kannada organizations, hence on behalf of the Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti, we wish to request the Central government to intervene immediately and provide justice...” the farmer leaders stated in a memorandum to the minister.
The Jal Shakti ministry has to intervene immediately and stop the release of Cauvery water, unscientifically allotted to Tamil Nadu, and set up a team of experts who can assess the crisis in the Cauvery basin on an immediate basis and implement a justifiable distress formula, the farmers said. They also urged the minister to convene a meeting of chief ministers, water resource ministers, and officials of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to understand the drought situation in the Cauvery basin firsthand. They said the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir can store 65 tmcft of water and help Karnataka and Tamil Nadu handle drought years adequately.
“Karnataka bears the entire burden of safeguarding and maintaining the forests in the Western Ghats that help us with plentiful rain. Tamil Nadu, that asks for its share of water, should contribute at least Rs 2,000 crore a year for protection and conservation of the forests in Karnataka,” the memorandum stated.