Karnataka government taking a stand against release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu is strongly condemnable, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Monday and announced convened a meeting of legislative party leaders on July 16 to decide on the next course of action in the inter-state river dispute. As on July 15, 2024, while the total storage in the four main dams of Karnataka is 75.586 TMC ft, the water level in Tamil Nadu's Mettur reservoir is a mere 13.808 TMC ft, he said in a statement here. Moreover, as per the IMD's forecast, there is scope for adequate rainfall. Hence, Karnataka declining to release water according to the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee's (CWRC) directive is a betrayal of Tamil Nadu's farmers, Stalin said, adding the state will never accept it. On Sunday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said the state government was ready to release 8,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river every day to Tamil Nadu instead of the one TMC ft till the end of this ..
Karnataka has started releasing water from its reservoirs to Tamil Nadu in compliance with the directives issued by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), official sources said. The CWMA had directed the Karnataka government to ensure that 5,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water reaches Biligundlu in Tamil Nadu everyday for the next fortnight up to September 12. Karnataka was earlier asked to release 10,000 cusecs of water but the state appealed against the verdict saying that there was inadequate rainfall in the catchment areas of Cauvery basin. Taking Karnataka's concerns into consideration, the CWMA ordered releasing 5,000 cusecs. The water was released from Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam and Kabini reservoir in Mysuru, the sources said on Wednesday. Various farmers' organisations staged protests against the release of water from KRS dam and Kabini reservoir. Overnight protests took place in Mandya and Srirangapatna in the Cauvery belt.
The Tamil Nadu government has approached the top court, seeking direction to Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs of water daily from the reservoirs in Karnataka
The Karnataka government has described as "wholly misconceived" Tamil Nadu's plea seeking a direction from the Supreme Court that it be asked to release 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for standing crops. The Karnataka government, in an affidavit filed in the top court, has said Tamil Nadu's plea was based on an incorrect assumption that "the current water year is a normal water year and not a distressed water year". Rainfall has been 25 per cent lower and the water inflow into Karnataka's four reservoirs 42.5 per cent lesser, the affidavit said, adding that the stipulated release shall not be applicable this year. According to the affidavit, Karnataka said the southwest monsoon has largely failed so far during the current water year. Due to the same, a "distress condition" has arisen in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka. "Karnataka, therefore, is not obliged to and it cannot be compelled to ensure water as per the stipulated relief is prescribed for the normal year," the affida
Tamil film fraternity led by veteran actors-turned-politicians Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth on Sunday observed a silent protest demanding the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board