All Party Delegation To Meet PM Modi To Resolve Cauvery Water Issue

Karnataka Chief Minister on Wednesday announced that the government plans to form an all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the issue of 'releasing Cauvery water' to Tamil Nadu in a meeting organised at Vidhana Soudha.

Taking a stern decision over the issue, the Karnataka CM made it clear that the government is not going to compromise over water, language, and border issues.

The decision comes after the Tamil Nadu government appealed to the Supreme Court over the release of Cauvery water in the rain deficit year.

According to CM Siddaramaiah, suggestions from various party leaders were taken over the ongoing issue of releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. He further said that they presented their arguments to the Cauvery Water Management Authority [CWMA] defending the farmer's interests.

Former Chief Ministers BS Yediyurappa, Veerappa Moily, HD Kumaraswamy, Basavaraj Bommai, Sadananda Gowda, and Jagadish Shettar were among the attendees. In addition to that several Members of Parliament (MPs) also participated in the discussions.

Earlier this week, the Tamil Nadu government appealed to the Supreme Court to direct Karnataka for the release of 24,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for standing crops.

Talking about the challenges over the release of Cauvery water, CM Siddaramaiah asserted that the government had to overcome huge challenges due to low rainfall this year. The government was compelled to release only 26 thousand million cubic feet [TMC], however, the actual amount was 86.38 TMC. After all the arguments, the government concluded to release 10,000 cusecs per day until August's end instead of 15,000 cusecs per day."

However, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was not happy with the government's way of handling the dispute. Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar appealed to the opposition parties to give importance to state interests over political agendas.

Meanwhile, protests by Karnataka's farmers continue against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu over drought-like conditions due to reservoirs' dwindling water levels.