Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said his government will challenge the order by Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu in Supreme Court. On Tuesday, the CWRC in a meeting held in the national capital directed Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water from Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu from September 28 upto October 15. Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah said he spoke with advocates who have suggested them to challenge the CWRC order in the Supreme Court.
"Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) ordered to release 3000 cusecs of water, I have already spoken to our advocates. They have suggested us to challenge this order in the Supreme Court. We'll challenge it in the Supreme Court. We don't have water to release to Tamil Nadu. We are challenging the orders of the CWRC", the Chief Minister said.
Siddaramaiah further said that he had prayed at Mahadeshwara temple for more rain as 194 taluqs have been declared drought-prone.
'Siddaramaiah, Shivkumar Should Not Behave Like Tamil Nadu Agents'
Meanwhile the opposition parties in Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) — who have announced a pre-poll alliance for 2024 Lok Sabha polls — hit out at the Congress-led Siddaramaiah government of the state and also staged a protest demanding that the water should not be released to Tamil Nadu.
Former Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa said "Our CM Siddaramaiah and Shivkumar, they must know, that they should not behave like Tamil Nadu agents. They must realise the actual facts. In almost all our reservoirs water is not at all sufficient for even drinking purposes." JD(S) leader and former CM HD Kumaraswamy alleged, "After this decision, he said that he was very happy. But there is a shortage of water in the river."
BJP MP from Bangalore South Tejasvi Surya also said that Karnataka must stop water that is being released to Tamil Nadu.
What Is Cauvery Water Dispute
The initial 200-year long dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery river water was put to rest in 2018 by Supreme Court which ordered an additional share of 14.75 TMC of water to Karnataka and reduced Tamil Nadu's share by the same amount as the river fulfils drinking water needs for Bengaluru city and is the main source of irrigation of farm lands in Mandya region of the state.
The issue has, however, flared up once again as political parties in both the state — demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention — argue that the 2018 Supreme Court order implies the water-sharing norm only for a normal monsoon year while this year received rainfall deficient over 30 per cent below normal.
The rainfall in August and September, out of the four months of monsoon that began in June, has been the lowest in the last 123 years for Karnataka.