From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Sep 18: Gearing up for the crucial meeting of the Cauvery River Authority, which is meeting for the first time in nine years in Delhi on Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar held a crucial consultations with the Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in Bangalore on Tuesday before leaving for the national capital.

The Cauvery River Authority, chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, is meeting in Delhi on Wednesday after the prodding to the Centre by the Supreme Court to consider Tamil Nadu’s demand for release of Cauvery waters.

Though Karnataka had agreed before the Supreme Court to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, the Jagadish Shettar regime has been pleading its inability to accept Tamil Nadu’s demand for release more Cauvery waters on account of the severe drought conditions in the State.

Shettar was accompanied by Karnataka’s Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai and senior officials during his meeting with Krishna, who as the chief minister of the State had handled the Cauvery crisis. Incidentally, Krishna also hails from Maddur in Mandya district, in the heart of the Cauvery basin area.

Various organizations in Karnataka, including farmers in the Cauvery basin, have been protesting against the State Government’s agreement for even releasing 10,000 cusecs of the water with the Cauvery Agitation Committee under the chairmanship of former Congress MP G Made Gowda and Kannada film star Ambarish, who had served as Union minister and had quit his ministership over the Cauvery issue, had held a massive protest meeting in Mandya on Monday.

The umbrella organizations of farmers had even observed a bandh in Mandya on Monday.

The Chief Minister, who extended greetings to Krishna on the Ganesha Chaturthi festival, is understood to have obtained valuable suggestions from the former Congress chief minister.

Shettar, who left for Delhi with Bommai for the CRA meeting, is expected to camp in Delhi for meeting several other Union ministers on various pending projects of the State. The Chief Minister’s return tickets are kept open.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha also held discussions with her cabinet colleagues and officials in Chennai to finalise the State’s stand and arguments to be presented before Wednesday’s Cauvery River Authority meeting in Delhi.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Panneerselvam, Electricity Minister Natham R Viswanathan and Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi participated in the meeting, according to an official press release by the State Government.