Congress Failed To Convince Cauvery Water Management Authority: HD Kumaraswamy

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday, September 23, slammed the ruling Congress over its inability to convince the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee of the situation prevailing in the State after being directed to release 5,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu daily for 15 days.

After concluding his visit to the KRS reservoir, Kumaraswamy affirmed that the farmers of the Cauvery region are facing severe problems as the water level in the reservoir has massively gone down. He added that farmers are facing a drinking water crisis.

“Almost every day in the reservoir (KRS reservoir) the water level is going down. Two times water has to be released for the standing crop here. Our farmers are facing severe problems for the future, even with drinking water and saving the cultivated crop. It’s an impossible situation here. This Government from day one has failed to convince the Cauvery Water Management Authority and Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee. They have taken it very lightly,” Kumaraswamy said.

Cauvery row: Farmers call for ‘Bandh’
In the thick of the ongoing Cauvery water-sharing issue with Tamil Nadu, pro-Kannada outfits and farmer organisations in Karnataka’s Mandya called for a ‘Bandh’ on Saturday to protest against the order of CWMA which ruled the State Government to release 5,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu daily for 15 days. The strike came after the Supreme Court on Thursday denied interfering with the order of the CWMA.

Speaking to reporters on the Cauvery water-sharing row, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said that the State Government is there to protect the interest of farmers. “We are there to protect the interest of the farmers of Karnataka. We have appealed to the authorities that no one should take the law into their hands. I appeal to them not to organise a ‘bandh’. We are there to support the interest of Karnataka,” said DK Shivakumar.

The protest has rocked the southern state since the passage of the CWMA order. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra while refusing to interfere in the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said both CWMA and CWRC are regularly meeting and monitoring water requirements every 15 days.