Bengaluru: With the Supreme Court expected to pronounce its verdict on a petition filed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu against the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, on February 5, senior officials of the police and Karnataka Neeravari Nigam(KNN) met at the KRS dam in Srirangapatna taluk , Mandya on Tuesday to discuss security arrangements in the district.
Security for the KRS dam was topmost on the agenda as it has been the focal point of the century-old inter-state water dispute. Officials of the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force , which has deployed men at the dam, said it needed back-up to ensure its safety should there be trouble following the verdict. At its request it was decided to get additional police from neighbouring districts for Mandya.
Another meeting will be held on February 2 to review the arrangements and other issues.
Meanwhile, going by sources, Tamil Nadu has written to the Karnataka government asking for immediate release of Cauvery water for its farmers in accordance with the orders of the tribunal, putting the state in a fix as it has to make sure it has enough water for its own farmers. The government is worried that farmers of Mandya could hit the streets if it is compelled to release water to TN.
TN CM to meet Siddaramaiah seeking water for crops
Under pressure to save the withering crops in the Cauvery Delta region, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will soon lead a delegation to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah to demand release of the state's remaining share of 81 tmcft of water out of the stipulated 192 tmcft every year. At a cabinet meeting in Chennai, Palaniswami announced that he would lead a high-powered delegation consisting of ministers from the Cauvery Delta region, which depends on water released by Karnataka for irrigation, to Siddaramaiah to place Tamil Nadu's demands before him personally.
"The meeting decided to send the delegation to save the samba crops in the Delta region by requesting Karnataka Government to release water from Cauvery. A formal letter seeking appointment of the CM of Karnataka has been sent to the state's chief secretary and the CM's principal secretary. A request in this regard has also been made through a telephone call," an official statement said. Sources said the CM and his colleagues were briefed about the distress situation in the Cauvery delta region, where farmers are already up in arms demanding water from Karnataka to save withering crops. Farmers in the Delta depend on Cauvery water for cultivating and harvesting crops. The decision by the TN Government came a day after farmers staged a rail roko in Tiruchi and Thanjavur demanding water.
