Bengaluru, Aug 15 (IANS): Former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has urged the Congress-led government in the state not to release water from Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.
He alleged that the neighbouring state has violated the verdict of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT).
Bommai has written a letter in this regard to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and urged him to initiate legal proceedings.
The letter addressed to CM Siddaramaiah read: "I assume that Tamil Nadu state has again raised a controversy over distribution of water from the Cauvery river. I have read in the media that Tamil Nadu is preparing to approach the Supreme Court in this regard. I am writing this letter to you to keep the facts in mind and demand to initiate legal action in the matter.
"On June 1, the four reservoirs of Karnataka had storage of 24.352 TMC. Likewise, Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu had 69.77 TMC of water and Bhavani sagar dam had 16.653 TMC of water. From media it is learnt that by August 6, 2023, 14.054 TMC of water has flown to Tamil Nadu as per the Biligundlu measuring station.
"In this year the inflow to Mettur dam is 83.831 TMC. As per the provisions in CWDT, Tamil Nadu can grow 1.80 lakh acres of Kuruvai crop and utilise 32 TMC of water. But, Tamil Nadu by August 7, 2023 has utilised 60.97 TMC of water for Kuruvai crop which is double the proportion stipulated by the CWDT.
"Tamil Nadu without taking into consideration the water shortage in the Kaveri River catchment area had provided four times more water than stipulated for Kuruvai crop. There is setback to us as our officers have failed to register their protest in this regard and this has gone against the interest of the state," the letter read.
Bommai further said: "The release of water to Tamil Nadu will result in shortage of water to Bengaluru city, Cauvery river catchment areas and the state will face shortage of water to Kharif crop in the state. It will push farmers of our state to crisis. I urge you to make strong decisions and uphold the interests of the farmers."