Karnataka orders release of water from Cauvery to TN

Bangalore, July 9 (UNI) The Karnataka government today decided to release 7000 cusecs of Cauvery water from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir to Tamil Nadu.

The decision came in the wake of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi writing a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking the immediate release of Cauvery water.

Announcing the decision here, Karnataka Water Resources Minister K S Eshwarappa said the government had decided to release water from the KRS.

''The level in reservoir is increasing and we have decided to release 7000 cusecs. This will not affect the Karnataka farmers in any way as we are getting 34,000 cusecs inflow into the reservoir.

Over 30,000 cusecs of water is already flowing out of Kabini reservoir as the dam has almost reached its full level,'' he added.

The water level in the KRS today stood at 115.20 feet against the maximum level of 124.80 feet.

Earlier, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had criticised Mr Karunanidhi for writing a letter to the Prime Minister saying that it created confusion in the minds of the people. ''This I fear may bring differences of opinion among the farmers of both the states. The two states will have to depend on nature to meet their water needs,'' he added.

UNI