New Delhi (Agency): Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has demanded that the state government immediately cease the release of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader criticized the Congress government for not protecting the interests of farmers and the people of Karnataka who require the water for drinking.
“The government has been faltering on the Cauvery issue since the beginning,” said Bommai. He stated that around 15 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water has already been released, complying with the directives of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). Yet, according to him, no legal actions have been taken against this move.
Bommai questioned the logic behind Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources portfolio, discussing the issue with legal experts now. He pointed out that the state government has already started releasing 5,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water daily as per CWMA’s instructions. “An appeal against the previous order should have already been filed with the Supreme Court, which has not been done yet,” he lamented.
“I demand that the release of water should be immediately stopped and an appeal to the Supreme Court should be filed,” insisted Bommai. He stressed the need for a legal battle with “strong convictions” to protect both the drinking water needs of the state and the interests of the farmers.
Earlier, the CWMA had ordered Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of water every day for a span of 15 days. The Karnataka government had later appealed against this order, stating that the watershed regions of the Cauvery had received inadequate rainfall. Nevertheless, the CWMA decided that Karnataka must continue to release water so that 5,000 cusecs reach Biligundlu in Tamil Nadu daily until September 12.
The Cauvery water issue has long been a point of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, involving the sharing of water from the river that flows through both states. The dispute has implications for agriculture, drinking water supply, and even political relationships between the two states.
As the situation stands, Bommai’s demand adds another layer of complexity to this long-standing issue. His call for immediate action and a legal battle represents a sense of urgency, indicating that the matter is far from resolved. It remains to be seen whether the Karnataka government will heed Bommai’s call and take the issue to the Supreme Court for adjudication.
