The ruling Congress government in Karnataka will convene an all-party meeting on August 23 to discuss the Cauvery water-sharing matter in view of the low inflow of water into the reservoir following poor rains. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar informed that some MPs have also been invited to attend the all-party meeting slated to take place on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported. He said that the Congress government is cautious as the hearing on the water sharing issue will come up at the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).
“It is our bounden duty to protect our state because the farmers of Karnataka feel they are not getting water. Rains are also not so good. I think the flow (of Cauvery river) in the reservoir has come down. So we want to discuss this issue on Wednesday. We have called an all-party meeting on Wednesday,” Shivakumar told reporters, as quoted by PTI.
Meanwhile, he blamed the opposition for politicising the matter saying, “We want to respect farmers, we want to respect farmers, we want to respect court, we want to respect everyone but some BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) friends are trying to make it a political issue.”
Notably, this announcement comes after Karnataka Cabinet on Saturday directed the Advocate General to file the state's appeal before the Supreme Court on August 21 (Monday) regarding the release of Cauvery river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.
Last week, Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court with a petition to direct Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for standing crops.
More On It: Tamil Nadu To Move Supreme Court As Karnataka 'Changes Stand' Over Cauvery Water Sharing
"The Advocate General was invited to today's cabinet. He has been directed to file the state's appeal before the Supreme Court on Monday," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said, as quoted by PTI.
"He (AG) has been asked to file an appeal with all the detailed information based on the existing situation. Not willing to share any details, the minister in response to a question said, As we are filing an appeal before the Supreme Court, I don't want to indulge in any discussion, as the court should not say you have told the press and you are coming before us," he added.
After Tamil Nadu approached the apex court, D K Shivakumar, who is also in charge of the Water Resources department, said that Karnataka would release 10 tmc ft of water from the Cauvery basin to the neighbouring state. According to him, the state doesn't have sufficient water in dams to meet its requirements like drinking water and agriculture due to deficit monsoon.
On Friday, he informed that the Karnataka government wrote to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) urging it to review the order asking the state to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu on a daily basis for the next 15 days.
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