Bengaluru: Facing a fresh bout of litigation by Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery issue, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy Tuesday said the decades old dispute "is not going to be solved permanently" by the judiciary and pitched for talks between the two states.
Striking a note of cordiality, he said after offering prayers at the famous Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala that Kannadigas and Tamilians were not enemies and the inter-state river water should be shared accordingly at times of copious inflows and distress situation. Kumaraswamy's push for talks came amid the fresh face-off between the two states over Karnataka's proposal to construct a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu across Cauvery. Tamil Nadu is opposing the move, insisting such a dam will affects its farmers. Tamil Nadu has already approached the Supreme Court over the Mekedatu issue while hinting that it was not in favour of Karnataka's proposal to hold consultations on the row, which came to fore after the Centre gave its approval for a Detailed Project Report. The state assembly has passed a resolution urging the Centre to withdraw the nod for the DPR saying any such move would violate the Supreme Court's February verdict and the Cauvery dispute tribunal's final order on sharing of the river water.
"We are not enemies. I have requested leaders of all TN parties and the state government -- this (Cauvery) issue is not going to be solved permanently by judiciary. We must sit and sort it out," he said.
