Pressing the Centre to direct Karnataka government against going ahead with the construction of a dam across Cauvery river, an all-party MPs delegation from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his "immediate" intervention in the issue.
The delegation, comprising Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members drawn from AIADMK, DMK, PMK and CPI(M) and led by senior AIADMK leader and Deputy Speaker M Thambi Durai, also demanded constitution of Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.
The meeting came on a day when farmers in Tamil Nadu called a day-long state-wide bandh to protest against Karnataka's move to build a dam across the Cauvery in Mekedatu.
"The central government is not making efforts. They are not taking this issue seriously. We cannot understand why they are doing. That's why we came to meet the Prime Minister seeking that they should take necessary action," Thambi Durai told reporters after meeting Modi.
"The Centre should intervene to stop, persuade and direct Karnataka government not to proceed further," he added.
Asked about the response of the Prime Minister, Thambi Durai said that Modi has assured to look into the issue.
Citing a resolution adopted by Tamil Nadu Assembly, he said that it was not right to build a dam across Cauvery river in the name of drinking water project.
Charging that Karnataka was treating Tamil Nadu as a drain for releasing flood waters, he attacked Karnataka government for "violating" the Tribunal and the Supreme Court orders over the issue.
