BENGALURU/MYSURU: Karnataka BJP leaders have accused the state Congress of indulging in ‘’adjustment politics’’ with the Tamil Nadu government over the release of Cauvery water to reap dividends for their alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashoka said when Karnataka is facing severe drought and people are facing difficulty in getting water, the state Congress government is releasing thousands of cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu. “Bengaluru is facing a severe drinking water crisis. However, the government is continuously releasing water to Tamil Nadu. It is such a shame that they have come to an adjustment with the Tamil Nadu government as they are in an alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” he said
Speaking on the Mekedatu reservoir project, Ashoka said the Congress staged a protest to implement the project when they were in opposition. Now that they are in power, they have not allocated any grants in their budget, but are instead blaming the Union government. “If they are really concerned, they would have announced Rs 10,000 crore for the project. They are spoiling Bengaluru’s reputation,” he said. He also slammed the government for not paying compensation to farmers who are in distress.
Refuting all these allegations, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar clarified that water was released from KRS dam to the Shiva dam and was meant for Bengaluru city. “The BJP is trying to misled people by making baseless charges. There is not enough water to meet the drinking water needs of Bengaluru. When we are not able to provide water for farmers and for drinking water, why will we give water to Tamil Nadu?” he said.
BJP leaders and JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda should first prevail upon the Centre and get permission for the Mekedatu project, he said adding that the saffron party is now making baseless charges to cover up their mistake.
Meanwhile, Kannada activists and Cauvery action committee members took out protests wearing black bands against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
They blamed the Congress government for the acute water scarcity and drying up of water bodies. They alleged that the government is misleading the farming community.
Farmers in Srirangapatna blocked the highway carrying empty pots and others got into the river against the release of water to Tamil Nadu. They want the government to stop discharge into rivers and divert it to irrigation canals to save standing crops.
Water meant for Bengaluru, not TN, says Cauvery Nigam
The Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) has issued a clarification that water is being released to address the drinking water problems in Bengaluru and not to Tamil Nadu. CNNL officials said 1,000 cusecs of water is required for drinking and industrial purposes daily in Mysuru and Bengaluru. For Bengaluru, 600 cusecs of water from Shiva dam in Malavalli is being released from Thorekadanahalli reservoir. But the water level at Shiva reservoir has reduced to just 36 inches from March 6 to 8. Based on a request from BWSSB officials on March 9, around 4,780 cusecs of water was released from KRS dam at 7 pm on March 9. As 2,000 cusecs of water is also being released from Kabini dam, the water level at the Shiva reservoir increased by 16 inches. On March 10, 2,769 cusecs of water was released to Shiva reservoir. As there was an increase of 18 inches at Shiva reservoir, the release from KRS dam was reduced to 1,008 cusecs by noon. ENS