JDS leaders plan protest march to demand clearance of Mekedatu project

Bengaluru: Janata Dal (Secular) leaders and MLAs along with former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy will march from Vidhana Soudha to Rajbhavan on Thursday at 2 pm, demanding clearance of the Mekedatu project and upper Krishna project.

Kumaraswamy said that they will also give a memorandum to President through Governor demanding clearance of the Mekedatu and upper Krishna project.

The Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum drinking water project, to be constructed across the Cauvery river basin, has been at the centre of controversy between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Earlier on July 12, former Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said that the Centre will have to give clearance to the project as per law and there is no reason the state government will stop the project.

Responding to the comments of Bommai, Tamil Nadu Water Resource Durai Murugan said that the state has the right to take a legal course of action to stop Karnataka from constructing the Mekedatu dam.

Prior to that, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin have also the urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to allow the Karnataka government to construct a dam at Mekedatu against the orders of the Cauvery tribunal and the Supreme Court.

Incidentally, a civil appeal filed by Tamil Nadu, seeking a restraint order on the proposal, is pending before the Supreme Court.