Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said Tamil Nadu has stored 55 tmcft of water in its Mettur reservoir for Samba crop though people in the Cauvery basin region in Karnataka are struggling to save water for drinking requirement.
Explaining the water crisis in the Cauvery basin to the Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka had released water to Tamil Nadu despite the neighbouring state being in a comfortable position as far as availability of water was concerned.
Farmers in the Cauvery basin region in Karnataka have already sacrificed their crops due to non-availability of water, he added. He said, Tamil Nadu can manage without the surface water from the Cauvery river for growing Samba crops; the water table in the delta region is good.
Still they demand water from Karnataka, he said and recalled the large-hearted gesture of Karnataka in giving its share of five tmcft of the Krishna river water for the drinking water needs of Chennai city in the past. Siddaramaiah said Karnataka has never defied the Supreme Court order despite being in a difficult situation. Water was released till September 20 in order to respect the Apex Court.
“Now, the available water is sufficient only for drinking needs of people in the basin region...We have to keep in mind that animals and birds too need water,” he added.
“We cannot get back the water once it is released. Where do we go to get water? What can we do in such a situation? Shall we deny water to our own people?” he asked and said that the elected representatives have the responsibility to protect the interests of people.
Siddaramaiah stressed that his government has equal respect for all the three pillars of democracy, though the resolution passed in the Legislature implied defying the September 20 order of the Supreme Court to release 6,000 cusecs water to Tamil Nadu. “We believe in democracy. I am in politics for 40 years. I strongly believe that the political dharma is to show equal respect to all the pillars of democracy,” he added.
State has strong defence if contempt case is filed, says Acharya
Senior advocate B V Acharya on Friday said state can defend itself if a contempt petition is filed for not releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu as per the Sept 20 SC order. “The two-judge bench of the SC appears to have committed contempt by ordering the Centre to establish Cauvery Management Board within four weeks. The petition challenging the move to establish the CMB is pending before a three-judge bench,” he stated, defending a resolution passed in the Karnataka legislature to use the available water only for drinking.
‘Cauvery agitation, bandhs cost state Rs 40K crore’
Bengaluru, dhns: Karnataka has incurred losses of almost Rs 40,000 crore over the Cauvery controversy in the last few days, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa said on Friday.
Addressing the Legislative Council during the special session on the Cauvery directive, he said that the recent violence and shutdowns had cost Karnataka dearly.
Every year, Karnataka witnesses tension over the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
But this year, the gravity of the agitation has become a matter of concern. It is ironic that Kannadigas damaged their own properties, he added.
Quantumof live water in Cauvery reservoirs (in tmcft)
Week-wise trend, June 17 to Sept 22, 2016
Week* KRS Kabini Hemavathy Harangi Mettur
June 16 4.1 0 3.27 0.86 14.1
June 23 2.87 0 3.27 1.16 13.1
June 30 2.46 0.78 3.92 2.64 13.1
July 6 10.26 5 10.14 5.19 14.1
July 14 14.36 7.52 7.52 7.68 15.88
July 21 16.82 8.77 15.7 7.68 20.55
July 28 18.1 9.87 15.37 7.76 22.41
Aug 4 16.82 10.34 16.68 7.68 25.22
Aug 11 16.4 10.81 19.3 7.45 26.15
Aug 18 16 10.96 19.95 7.6 28.02
Aug 24 15.59 11.59 20.28 7.37 30.82
Sept 1 13.13 10.81 17.66 7.07 35.49
Sept 8 12.72 10.65 14.1 6.05 38.29
Sept 15 9.85 8.14 7.85 4.27 45.76
Sept 22 9.03 7.67 5.89 3.88 49.5
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