Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday sought the Centre's intervention to immediately stop Karnataka from carrying out work on any check dams or diversion structures across Pennaiyar river.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said reports had suggested that the Karnataka government has constructed a diversion structure at Mugalur in Karnataka limits for diversion of water through a canal to feed Lakkur tank for irrigation.
"This act of Karnataka will affect the (water) flow in the river considerably and will severely affect the irrigation in Tamil Nadu depending upon the waters of the inter-state Pennaiyar river," she said. Jayalalithaa urged the Prime Minister to advise the Karnataka government to stop any construction activity across the Pennaiyar immediately and not to venture upon any schemes in the river without the prior consent of Tamil Nadu.
This move follows her earlier request to Centre to put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the state gets its rightful share of Cauvery water during the year.
"Karnataka is in the habit of depleting the storages from its four reservoirs - Krishnarajasagar, Kabini, Hemavathy and Harangi during summer besides utilising the inflows into the reservoirs during the period," she said.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said in her second letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after the Centre notified the final award on February 20.
