CM to meet Mandya MLAs, MP today on water release to TN

Siddaramaiah to lead all-party delegation to Centre on drought

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that he has convened a meeting of MLAs and the MP from Mandya on Wednesday to discuss releasing water from the KRS dam to Tamil Nadu.

Speaking to reporters here, the chief minister said that the volume of water to be released will be decided based on the availability of water in the reservoir. A final decision will be taken during a meeting of the elected representatives of all other districts coming under the Cauvery delta on August 19.

Siddaramaiah said that while the available storage recorded is 53 tmcft, there is a requirement of 35 tmcft for irrigation and 30 tmcft for drinking water purpose. As per the crisis agreement, the state has released 12 tmcft as against the committed 21 tmcft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Stating that the state is expected to receive rain this month, the chief minister said that cloud seeding has been planned as an alternative, with measures being taken to start it from the month-end, after studying the exact places to take up the initiative.

On the prevailing drought situation in the state, he said that he has written to the Centre. Besides, an all-party delegation will be taken to New Delhi. Although a similar exercise was conducted in the past to tide over the Cauvery and Mahadayi crises, there was no positive response from the Central government.

Siddaramaiah also made a mockery of BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa for not raising the issue of farm loan waiver. While the state government has waived the crop loans advanced by cooperative banks, the BJP failed to exert pressure on the Central government to waive the loans given by nationalised banks.

He also questioned the stand of the Union government, when the same dispensation had decided to write off the loans advanced to industrialists to the tune of Rs 81,000 crore.