Agriculture minister Cheluvarayaswamy says no more water can be released to Tamil Nadu

MANDYA: Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy has said that no more water can be released to Tamil Nadu till the Supreme Court’s verdict on September 21 as Karnataka is already having problems with drinking water and there is no water for crops.

Speaking on the continuing row over Cauvery water sharing, the minister said, “No more water can be released as there is no water in the dam…We have problems with drinking water at present and there is no water for crops earlier as well…Drinking water supply will also be affected in the coming days”, Cheluvarayaswamy said.

“We will report the situation to the authorities and I will talk to the CM, Deputy CM, and Irrigation Minister today,” added Cheluvarayaswamy. He further expressed hope that the state will get a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court and said that water cannot be released till the verdict is given.

“It seems that the Supreme Court verdict will be good, but since it is postponed now, water cannot be given till then”, the minister said. He added that a further decision will be taken after discussion with everyone.

Members of the Karnataka Janapara Vedike staged a protest against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu by standing in the water.

Meanwhile, Pro Kannada organisations have continued their protest demanding to stop water from being released to Tamil Nadu ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on September 21. The protesters held a rolling protest at Sanjay Circle in Mandya.

The protestors were demanding to stop the Cauvery water release to Tamil Nadu after the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) passed an interim order asking Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily for the next 15 days.

The state government has come under fire from the opposition BJP. Former chief minister Basavraj Bommai said that the state had shown no ability in handling the Cauvery water issue.

“The Mekedatu project has been in demand for centuries. During our period, Congress people campaigned and campaigned, but when I was told that this case was in the court, I did not believe it. Now Siddaramaiah is saying that the case is in court. The truth came out of his mouth. Now, there is a high demand for irrigation in both the states. Demand for water has increased for both the states”, said Bommai. (ANI)