'Release water to TN if it rains in catchment areas'

Karnataka government can implement the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) direction to release 9.19 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu only if the catchment areas start receiving good rainfall in the first week of next month.

As per the CWMA direction, Karnataka should release 9.19 tmcft water to the neighbouring state in June. Water can be released in three installments. In other words, the state has to ensure flow of about 3 tmcft by June 10. In case the south-west monsoon is delayed, Karnataka will be in trouble, sources in the Water Resources department said.

Currently, about 14.43 tmcft of water is available in the four major reservoirs of the Cauvery basin – KRS, Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi. About 4.84 tmcft of water is required every month to ensure drinking water to 47 towns, including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, and 625 villages in the basin area.

There is severe drought in the state. Many taluks in the basin area are declared as drought hit. The available water is enough to ensure drinking water supply till June. The state government has already directed not to use the available water for the irrigation purpose, the sources said.

Minor Irrigation Minister C S Puttaraju categorically said Karnataka cannot release water to Tamil Nadu.

“We hardly have any water in the reservoirs. It is not even sufficient for drinking purpose. So the question of releasing water to Tamil Nadu does not arise,” he added. Puttaraju is also Mandya district in-charge minister.