BENGALURU, 12 JULY

Soon after Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directed the State government to release 1 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu daily, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced it would file an appeal with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) against the directives.

After a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar--who is also the Water Resources Minister, Ministers from the Cauvery river basin area-- and officials, he also said that an all-party meeting will be held on 14 July to decide on the state's next course of action.

He stated that although the weather forecast predicts normal rainfall, there is currently a 28 per cent deficit. “The CWRC has been informed of our position, and the government has requested not to make any decisions until the end of July. However, the CWRC has mandated releasing 1 TMC of water daily from 12 July,” Siddaramaiah said.

He said that the meeting concluded with the opinion that the government should appeal the CWRC's order before the CWMA. The all-party meeting on 14 July at 4pm aims to unite all political factions on Karnataka's water issue. Union Ministers, Cauvery Constituency Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha Members, and MLAs will be invited to the meeting. He stressed that the government's next steps will be determined by consensus.

He also noted that approximately 1 cusec of water is currently being released into Tamil Nadu from the Kabini Dam.

"A total of only 60 TMC of water is available across all four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin. We must also allocate water for agricultural activities. Considering the lack of rain, we have requested to delay any decisions until the end of July,” the chief minister said.

Shivakumar said that in the major dams of the Cauvery basin, the water availability is at 62 per cent. He said, “We have noticed there is a shortage of water by 10 TMC and we have held a discussion with our legal experts on releasing the cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.” Salar News with Agencies