Stop dam construction at Mekedatu: TN MP

A parliamentarian from Tamil Nadu on Friday urged the Union government to take immediate steps to stop Karnataka’s proposal to construct two dams across Cauvery at Mekedatu, stating that it violated the spirit of the river water sharing agreement between the two neighbouring states.

Raising the issue in the Upper House, DMK Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi Siva said “the proposed reservoirs would impound the flows in the intermediate catchment below the Krishnaraja Sagar, Kabini reservoirs, and Billigundulu in the common border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.”

If the proposed project is implemented by Karnataka, it would hit the livelihood of scores of farmers in Tamil Nadu who depend on Cauvery, he said.
Violates agreements
The construction of these dams violates the spirit of the river water sharing agreement, the Supreme Court verdicts and the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s final judgement, he said.
“Farmers in the Cauvery delta region in Tamil Nadu have suffered losses for the past many years due to the inadequate release of water by Karnataka. Agriculture labourers have lost incomes amounting to Rs 1,000 crore annually. Many farmers in the Cauvery delta have committed suicide,” he said.