From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Oct 7: With the Supreme Court mandated high-level Central technical team led by Central Water Commission (CWC) Central Water Commission (CWC) Chairman S Jha arriving in Karnataka to study the ground realities in the Cauvery basin areas of the State, the Siddaramaiah regime is all set to present a detailed memorandum on the grave drought-like situation in parts of the State’s Cauvery basin areas.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday, Karnataka’s Water Resources minister M B Patil said the Central team would be touring the State’s Cauvery basin areas for two days.

After chairing a review meeting with all senior officers, the minister said that the Central study team, during its two days of visit in the Cauvery basin, would be briefed on the poor rain fall received in the region, water level position in all the four reservoirs.

“The team, which would be accompanied by the representatives of the both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments, would also make a field visit in the region and witness the barren lands where farmers could not raise their normal crops and also withering crop due to non-release of water from the canals,’’ he said,

Patil, who has been playing a pro-active role in the entire legal tussle over the Cauvery issue, said the storage position in all the four reservoirs including at KRS, Kabini and Gorur was``alarmingly low."

Presenting a grim picture of the situation in the State, he said farmers could plant in about one third of the total allocated cropped area of about 18 lakhacres and out of which the standing crops in about 2 lakh acres, have lost due to monsoon failure.

He said the State Government would present a memorandum to the Central team, after its arrival in the State.

The Central team would later leave for field visits in Mandya and Mysuru districts.

Rakesh Singh, the Principal Secretary, Water Resources department, Chikrayappa, MD, Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited Managing and Shivakumar, Chief Engineer, KRS division, would accompany the Central study team which would make a field visit in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, he said.

It may be recalled that Karnataka had successfully argued in the Apex court, to send an expert teamto visit the Cauvery basin for a factual assessment of ground reality in the region.