BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said a review petition was filed before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) over its order asking the state to release 3,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
A statement from the chief minister’s office (CMO) said after reviewing the situation, a review petition will also be filed before the Supreme Court over the CWMA’s directive.
Siddaramaiah, along with senior cabinet members, held a meeting on Friday with retired Supreme Court judges and the Advocate General on the ongoing Cauvery water dispute.
Earlier, the CWMA upheld the decision of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and directed Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu every day, until October 15.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was also present in the meeting over the water-sharing issue.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya lambasted the Congress government for its “very casual” approach to the issue.
The MP from Bengaluru South alleged that the Congress was approaching the issue in a “duplicitous manner” to help its INDIA bloc partner, DMK in Tamil Nadu.
“There is no coordination between the CM and the deputy CM. The state government is very casual in its approach. Are they trying to approach this issue in a duplicitous manner to help their INDI alliance partner, the DMK, with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?” he asked.
“The state government is releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. If water from the Cauvery is routed to Tamil Nadu in this manner, the people of Bengaluru will soon run out of drinking water. The Karnataka government has failed to present its case before the CWMA,” Surya told ANI on Friday.
He said that releasing additional water to Tamil Nadu would severely compromise Karnataka’s drinking water needs. The BJP MP added that this “very grim reality” needs to be presented before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
“The Water situation in Karnataka is extremely grim. The state has suffered a 60 per cent deficit in rainfall this year. The state needs about 106 TMC of water but only has about 50 TMC. Out of the 34 talukas in the Cauvery basin, 32 have been declared severe drought-hit. Farmers do not have water to support their standing crop. In this scenario, releasing additional water to Tamil Nadu will severely compromise the state’s drinking water needs,” the BJP MP told ANI.
Farmer unions and pro-Kannada organisations called for a Karnataka Bandh after the Cauvery Regulatory Committee (CWRC) ordered the release of 3,000 cusecs of water at Biligundlu to Tamil Nadu from September 28 till October 15.
The state had earlier released 5,000 cusecs of water daily as per a previous order.
Though Karnataka moved the Supreme Court against the direction of the CWRC, saying it cannot release the water to Tamil Nadu because of poor rainfall this year, the court refused to intervene.
Many protestors in Karnataka chanted that the Cauvery River belongs to the state. (ANI)