Bengaluru, Sep 13 (IANS): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday said that the inflow into the Cauvery river in Karnataka is lowest in 30 years.

There is a 54 per cent shortage on an average in three decades, he added.

Speaking at an all-party meeting at Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said that the state needed 70.20 tmc of water for standing crops, 33 tmc for drinking water purposes from September to July 2024. For usage of industries 3 tmc is required. In total there is a requirement of 106.20 tmc of water for Karnataka.

But, in four reservoirs of the state in the Cauvery valley, the live storage available is 53.287 tmc.

In the previous year, the live storage was 103.348 tmc. In the current year between June 1 to September 11, 37.718 tmc of water had flowed to Tamil Nadu. In a normal year, as per the order of the CWDT 90.860 tmc of water should have been released, he explained.

Over the years, the state has released more than the stipulated amount of water to Tamil Nadu. In the last year, against the 177.75 tmc of water, more than 650 tmc of water was released, he said.

The petition filed by Tamil Nadu will come before the Supreme Court on September 21. The CWRC and CWMA are also giving orders after analysing the situation in the Cauvery valley. In this crisis situation it is the duty of the government to protect the interest of the farmers and to preserve drinking water for the state, Shivakumar stated.

He appealed in the meeting to the leaders to sideline the politics and give suggestions to protect the interest of the state.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), in its latest recommendation, has asked the Karnataka government to release 5,000 cusecs of water for 25 days from Wednesday onwards.

Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar had stated that the state was in no position to release the water as it did not have enough storage for drinking water purposes.