Bengaluru, Oct 10 (IANS): Former Karnataka Water Resource Minister, M.B. Patil, on Friday demanded that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa should convene an all-party meeting to oppose the Union Jal Shakti Ministry's decision to refer the Krishna river dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to a tribunal.

In a letter written to Yediyurappa, Patil said that the state government should not take this issue lightly. "This is a serious matter, we need to oppose this at any cost," he said.

Expressing concerns, Patil asserted that there is pressing need for a clarification from the Union government in this regard, and unless the state government takes up this matter with it, it might turn out to be disastrous in the future.

He argued that the dispute is between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which are newly carved out states, hence, Karnataka should not allow these two states to refer this matter once again to a tribunal.

Krishna is an east flowing river that originates in Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and merges with the Bay of Bengal after flowing through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.