THANJAVUR: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) should ensure that Karnataka respects its orders and releases water to Tamil Nadu, said farmers of the Cauvery delta districts, reacting to the outcome of the CWMA meeting on Tuesday.
The CWMA on Tuesday ordered Karnataka to release 31.3 tmc of water due to Tamil Nadu for July as per the Supreme Court order. The CWMA which met on May 28, ordered Karnataka to release 9.19 tmc of water for June. But, Karnataka has not done so, though it claimed that it released 1.8 tmc of water.
On Tuesday, the CWMA asked Karnataka to release the rest of the water also for June.
“There is no point in just passing orders. The Authority’s order should be respected by Karnataka. The Authority should have the power and control on reservoirs to assess water storage and release it directly, V. Jeevakumar, a farmer from Budalur told Deccan Chronicle, on Wednesday. If this trend continues, the CWMA will become a paper tiger, he said.
“Now there is a possibility of monitoring water storage online. The water position can also be found through satellite. Even if there is a deficit, due share of water should be given from the available water," Jeevakumar added.
Now that the Central government has formed the Jal Sakthi ministry, the Centre should take cognizance of the matter and try to solve the problem. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister should raise the issue with the Prime Minister, Jeevakumar suggested.
P. Maniarasan, co-ordinator of the Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu, called for giving more powers to the Authority. Control of reservoirs should come under the Authority. It should have the powers to lift shutters and release water. "The Tamil Nadu government should urge the Centre to dissolve the present authority and form a new authority armed with execution powers,” said Maniarasan.
S. Rangathan, secretary, Cauvery delta farmers welfare association, said that the Authority should physically verify the availability of water in each reservoir in Karnataka and take a decision. If there is precipitation, water should be released from the third day of precipitation on pro-rata basis. The water Authority should post engineers at the superintending engineer level at each reservoir to monitor storage and flow, said Ranganathan.
In the delta, kuruvai (short term crop) could not be taken up this season also in canal-irrigated areas consecutively for the eighth year, as the Mettur dam could not be opened on the traditional date of June 12 this year.
The Thanjavur senior agro-technocrats association suggested that government open the dam only in the second week of August this year, after storage is built up.
