TIRUCHY: With the Karnataka government on Sunday announcing that it would release 8,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu as against 1 tmcft ordered by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), farmers insist the state government resume its legal battle in the Supreme Court to get the share of the river water due to the state.
Recalling how former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2004 had moved the Supreme Court over the water sharing dispute and wanting the incumbent government to do the same, Swamimalai S Vimalnathan, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cauvery farmers’ protection association, said, “While the Supreme Court has already stated that all such disputes must be amicably resolved through the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), the body has been criticised for its lack of neutrality and biased actions. This could perpetuate inter-state conflicts repeatedly.”
Meanwhile, Mahadanapuram V Rajaram, president of Cauvery irrigation farmers’ welfare association, urged all political parties and farmers’ associations in Tamil Nadu to support the state government in the legal battle until Cauvery water reaches the Mettur dam.
“Political parties and farmers’ unions should stop holding protests and rallies in Tamil Nadu and stand alongside the state government as it intensifies the legal battle,” he added.
Deputy secretary of Cauvery delta farmers’ welfare association Kavandampatti R Subramanian wanted the Tamil Nadu chief minister to arrive at a concrete decision ensuring that farmers in the delta region receive sufficient water for irrigation, at the all-party meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
While stressing that Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi has been advocating for the welfare of Tamils and Tamil Nadu by criticising the BJP-led union government, N Veerasekaran, state spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, said, “If he really cares for Tamil Nadu and the farming community, he should advise the Congress-led Karnataka government and its leaders to adhere to the orders of CWRC and release 1 tmcft of Cauvery water for irrigation in delta districts.”
