'Water to Karnataka like feeding a snake'

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday, in his party mouthpiece “Saamna”, likened the water sharing with drought-hit Karnataka districts as “feeding a snake which bites the hand of the feeder.”

On April 11, the Maharashtra government agreed to supply 2 tmc of drinking water to the border districts of Karnataka under the Krishna Water Tribunal Accord till monsoon. As per the discussions held between the ministers of the two states, potable water will be released from the Dudh Ganga and Varna rivers.

In return, Karnataka will release waters from the Almati which can help overcome prevailing water scarcity in the Jat taluka of Sangli district in western Maharashtra.

Though the news of releasing water from the two rivers is yet to be made official, Thackeray in his editorial said: “When atrocities are being meted out to the Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka, the Maharashtra government keeps quiet. Instead it goes out and share water with tyrants.”

He advised the state government to refrain from “giving even a drop of water to Karnataka which is ruled by a government that has always given a step-motherly treatment to the Marathi-speaking people living in the border villages and regions of Belgaum.”

The two states have been at loggerheads over Belgaum since long. The matter is now with the Supreme Court.

Historic grounds

While Karnataka has claimed Belgaum as its own on historic grounds, Maharashtra has been insisting on redrawing the political boundary line on linguistic grounds. Last week, Maharashtra legislators, cutting across party lines, took out a morcha in protest against the renaming of Belgaum. They also demanded a speedy solution to the contentious issue. The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, which led the protest in Belgaum, enjoys Shiv Sena’s support.