Cauvery issue: Congress banks on technical committee's report for favorable verdict

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], Oct. 19 (ANI): With the Supreme Court looking into the technical committee's report on the Cauvery river-sharing dispute, the Congress on Wednesday hoped that the report enlightens the judges of the court and make them understand the ground realities of Karnataka. Congress state leader N.A Harris said the water is scant in Karnataka with a modicum of it left for drinking water purposes. He also said that the report accurately showcase the state's water scarcity. "Hope the technical committee's report will enlighten them and make them understand the situation here and then only give a verdict on this. I am sure that the learned judges will give a very reasonable and fair decision which will not be against Karnataka," Harris told ANI "The problem with us is that we are lacking drinking water. The judges should understand that. We are not asking water for farming we are asking for drinking," he added. The G S Jha-led Supreme Court appointed team on Monday submitted its report before the apex court after inspecteing the Krishnaraja Sagar and the Kabini dams in Karnataka, and the Mettur and Bhavani Sagar dams in Tamil Nadu. The high-level central technical team also interacted with public works department officials and delta farmers in Thanjavur Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts. The farmers in Tiruchirapalli and delta regions told the team that the samba crop will be damaged if water from the Cauvery is not released by Karnataka. The committee has stated 42 of the 48 talukas of Karnataka in the Cauvery basin have been affected by drought. The team was constituted as per orders of the apex court to assess the realities in the Cauvery basin areas in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. (ANI)