Bengaluru: Under fire from opposition parties which attacked the Karnataka government for its role in the Cauvery water dispute, the state government on Wednesday convened an all-party meeting to seek the opinions of all parties to find a timely solution to the vexed issue.
The meeting was held at Vidhansouda conference hall under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah regarding the Cauvery, Makedatu, and Mahadayi water disputes. Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, who shared the information, said that 2023-24 will be a difficult year due to the failure of the southwest monsoon in the Cauvery Valley region of Karnataka and Kerala.
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The Cauvery Water Control Committee in its meeting noted the lack of rainfall till June. On August 10, 1,5000 cusecs of water was directed for release from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka strongly opposed this and reduced the water quantity to 10,000 cusecs. Aggrieved by this, Tamil Nadu has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to release the water, which will be heard before a three-judge bench on Friday, Advocate General Sasikiran Shetty told at the meeting.
Speaking at the beginning of the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar made it clear that there is no compromise when it comes to safeguarding the interest of Karnataka in the matter of irrigation. The government's legal battle will continue. He also sought the cooperation of the leaders of all parties in this regard.
Later, former Chief Ministers BS Yeddyurappa, MP DV Sadananda Gowda, Congress leader Veerappa Moily, MPs Sumalatha, Jaggesh, Dr Hanumantaiah, Muniswamy, GM Siddeshwar, MLA Darshan Puttannaiah, etc. showed their support for the legal struggle of Karnataka. It was felt in the meeting that the hardship-sharing formula needs to be further specified.
Water Resources and Bangalore Development Minister DK Shivakumar, former Chief Ministers Basavaraja Bommai, BS Yeddyurappa, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Jagadeesh Shettar, D.V. Sadanand Gowda, Veerappa Moily, ministers HK Patil, Chaluvarayaswamy, Dr G. Parameshwara, K. J. George, Krishna Byregowda were present at the meeting.
