TN CM MK Stalin Calls For All-Party Meeting To Take Unified Stand On Mekedatu Dam Issue

The State's Water Resources Minister S Duraimurugan met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and was assured that any construction will only be carried out with the consent of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin (FIle Photo).

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has called an all-party meeting to take a call on the Mekedatu dam issue on July 12 in an effort to resolve the crisis and find a legal remedy, according to a statement issued by his office on Friday. The all-party meeting, according to the Chief Minister's office, will discuss and take a unified stand on the Mekedatu dam issue.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to chair an all-party meeting on the issue of Mekedatu dam construction by Karnataka on July 12.

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— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2021

The Tamil Nadu government has objected to Karnataka constructing a dam in the Cauvery river. The state's Water Resources Minister S Duraimurugan also met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi and received an assurance from the latter that any construction will only be carried out with the consent of Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu government said that Karnataka should abide by the Supreme Court orders that the latter cannot allow any block to the free flow of the Cauvery river which is the major source of water for the farmers living in the delta region. Friday's announcement comes a day after Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had on Thursday called a meeting of senior officials to speed up the construction of the Mekedatu dam.

Over the water woes due to Cauvery, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been at loggerheads for quite some time now. The union government had intervened and constituted a Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on June 1, 2018 after the direct intervention of the Supreme Court of India. 

(With inputs from IANS)