New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday met Union Ministers and Parliament members from the state in the national capital over the Cauvery dispute, and sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, CM Siddaramaiah said the order of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) will be challenged before the Supreme Court and request for a stay on the order of releasing water to Tamil Nadu will be made.

He maintained that a meeting will be held with the Union Jal Shakti Minister in the evening, and a decision will be taken regarding the future steps on the dispute after the meeting.

“The Prime Minister has authority to summon the two states and hear them out. In this background, we have appealed for the intervention of the Prime Minister,” he stated.

Earlier addressing the meeting, CM Siddaramaiah stated, in the absence of a distress formula, the Cauvery River water sharing has become a crisis for the state. “The question is not about releasing water, there is no water to release,” he underlined.

“We should all stand unitedly leaving aside party politics to save and protect the state’s land, language, water and culture. We should need 33 tmc of water for drinking purposes, 70 tmc for protecting standing crops and 3 tmc for industries. The state requires 106 tmc of water at any cost. In this situation, the state only has storage of 53 tmc only. There is no water to release to Tamil Nadu,” CM Siddaramaiah stated.

“The state has not received rain in August. Karnataka state is under distress,” he maintained.

In this situation, to safeguard the interest of the people, the Mekedatu project is inevitable. “To store our water on our land and to produce electricity, the Mekedatu project is needed. It is also necessary to deal with this kind of situation in future,” CM Siddaramaiah explained.

“We have written letters to the Union Minister for Water Resources twice and explained the existing situation comprehensively. We have also sought an appointment with the Prime Minister and Union Jal Shakti Minister for an all-party delegation,” he said. “We got to discuss our future steps scientifically,” he added.

Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar said that when it comes to the interests of the state, politics should not be done. All Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members should stand unitedly and place the demand before the Union minister and Central government.

Except for Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, all MP’s elected from the state were present in the meeting.