State's secret operation to counter TN claims

Karnataka is said to have effectively used the data gathered by a clandestine ground-level survey conducted by its officials and, satellite technology to counter Tamil Nadu's demand for more Cauvery water to save its Samba crop.

With Tamil Nadu knocking the doors of the Supreme Court seeking release of at least 9 tmc feet of water from Karnataka to save its crop, Karnataka officials held a brainstorming session in the last week of January and deputed  three senior officials--Shivaswamy, technical director, Cauvery Niravari Nigam, D Nagaraju and Thimme Gowda, professors, University Agriculture Sciences, Bangalore-- on a three-day secret mission to assess the ground reality in Tamil Nadu on February 1.

The team hired a Tamil Nadu-registration vehicle to escape the attention of officials of the neighbouring state and toured Thanjavur, Nagapattanam and Thiruvarur districts to assess the situation. The team returned with photographs and data.

The satellite image downloaded by Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre Director V S Prakash helped Karnataka to properly assess the Tamil Nadu’s water requirement. Collating the data and images, Karnataka is said to have prepared its defence in the Supreme Court.

The Karnataka government came to conclusion that out of the total crops grown in the Cauvery delta, about 50 per cent had already been harvested; 40 per cent was being harvested and only 10 per cent was at the stage of physiological maturity.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court-appointed team which visited the Cauvery delta of Tamil Nadu is said to have almost agreed with Karnataka’s findings on Tamil Nadu’s water requirement.