K'taka may not release Cauvery water to TN in September

The State government may not be able to release to Tamil Nadu its quota of Cauvery river water for the month of September due to the below par monsoon.

Sources in the government said the State has managed to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the Cauvery water tribunal award till August. But with monsoon having played truant, the State is facing acute water shortage. Going by the present level of water in four reservoirs, including KRS, in Cauvery basin, the government may find it tough to meet the drinking water needs of the old Mysuru region, the sources added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who is upset with  Karnataka government for challenging the High Court order quashing a disproportionate assets case against her, is most likely to mount pressure on the State to release the fixed quota of Cauvery water allocated to Tamil Nadu, the sources said.