Cauvery issue:Bharti convenes meeting with Karnataka, TN govts

Union Minister Uma Bharti is presiding over a meeting convened by the Centre to find a political solution to the "impasse" over sharing of Cauvery water by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Tamil Nadu PWD Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy are taking part in the meet which is being held in line with the Supreme Court's order asking Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to facilitate a meeting to reach a solution to the inter-state water crisis.

Karnataka Water Resources Minister MB Patil, chief secretaries of the two states Arvind Jadhav (Karnataka) and Rama Mohana Rao (Tamil Nadu) are the other officials present in the meeting.

Prior to attending the meeting, Siddaramaiah reiterated Karnataka's "severe difficulties" in meeting its water requirement and expressed hope that the meeting would arrive at a solution which is in the interest of its people.

"22 of our districts have been declared drought-hit for the Kharip 2016 season. We are struggling with managing water requirements. We hope for a solution in state's interest," he said.

Ahead of the meeting, Karnataka had yesterday decided to defer release of 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu as per the Supreme Court direction, awaiting outcome of the trilateral parleys.