Cauvery dispute: Special session of Karnataka Assembly to decide on SC's order today

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Sept. 23 (ANI): A special session of both Houses of the Karnataka legislature will be held on Friday to take a call on the Supreme Court's direction to the state to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu. Ahead of the session, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti in Delhi yesterday, a day after the state cabinet decided to defer the release of the waters and convene a legislature session amid an escalating row between the two states. Apprising Bharti of the ground realities and its inability to implement the apex court order, Siddaramaiah requested the Centre to file an objection against the court's direction to constitute a Cauvery Water Management Board. "It is difficult for us to release water, already as per the Supreme Court order, we have released 12,000 cusecs for 14 days. There is no water in our reservoirs. What is remaining in four reservoirs is only 26 TMC water, whereas we need 27 TMC to supply drinking water to Mandya, Mysuru, Bengaluru and nearby areas,' he told reporters in Delhi after meeting Bharti. Pointing out that Tamil Nadu is seeking water for irrigation and the Mettur reservoir there has a storage of 52 TMC water, Siddaramaiah said he has explained all this to the minister. Noting that the apex court had also asked the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board, he said, "It was uncalled for, neither us nor they (Tamil Nadu) had made a prayer for it. I have requested that the solicitor general or the additional solicitor general who represents the Government of India files an objection against it on September 27." The Cauvery Supervisory Committee had on September 19 asked Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs per day from September 21 to 30, but the apex court had on September 20, doubled the quantum to 6,000 cusecs from September 21 to 27 after Tamil Nadu pressed for water to save its samba paddy crop. It had also directed the Centre to constitute within four weeks the Cauvery Water Management Board as directed by Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal in its award. (ANI)