BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said protecting the interests of the state and its people will remain the government’s highest priority as it deals with the Cauvery water-sharing dispute. He appealed to political parties and Kannada organisations not to go ahead with a bandh, called on August 13, over the issue.
Addressing reporters after an all-party meeting on the Cauvery situation following directions from the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee to release water to Tamil Nadu, Shivakumar described the day as “historic” and said the entire state is closely watching the outcome of the deliberations. “I was born and brought up in the Cauvery basin. I am the son of a farmer and have personally experienced agriculture,” he said.
He said the interests and welfare of Karnataka’s people are paramount and neither he nor his government will do anything to harm the state’s interests. “Our government has worked at every stage to safeguard Karnataka’s interests while ensuring justice from the days of Gundu Rao, SM Krishna, Veerappa Moily and till Siddaramaiah’s term,” he said.
CM urges farmers to be patient
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Karnataka is witnessing a severe rainfall deficit and appealed to farmers to remain patient till the government issues district-specific guidance on cultivation.
He said the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directed Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. “Our dams were not full and there was no rain. Today there has been some rain and the situation has become slightly better. Kabini is now full,” he said.
Karnataka has received only around 35% of its normal rainfall so far this year. But inflows into reservoirs have improved in recent days with around 24,000 cusecs entering the reservoirs, including nearly 22,000 cusecs flowing into the crucial Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam.
But the rainfall has reduced slightly since Saturday afternoon, while the Kabini reservoir is receiving around 11,000 cusecs of inflows. Shivakumar said the government’s immediate priority is to ensure drinking water.
“We are releasing limited quantities of water through canals only to fill lakes and tanks meant for drinking water purposes, and not for irrigation,” he said. Karnataka requested the Tamil Nadu government to cooperate on the issue of drinking water, and the latter acknowledged the importance of ensuring drinking water, he added.
The state is also making use of borewell water wherever necessary for agriculture, he said. “The state will strictly act within the legal framework and consult legal experts before taking further steps. The advocate general briefed us on the legal aspects and advised us on the legal course of action. Our expert team was present throughout the meeting. This is only the first stage of the process,” he added.
He said CWMA and CWRC will hold several meetings during the year and Karnataka has to discharge its responsibilities before the authorities cautiously. He said Karnataka had released around 19.9 tmcft of water in June last year, compared to only around 2.30 tmcft this year.
In July last year, the state released around 31 tmcft, whereas this year only around 3.6 tmcft has been released. “Against the expected release of nearly 40 tmcft till July-end, we have been able to release only around 3.6 tmcft,” he added.
