Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said he had instructed officials to release additional water from Kabini dam to Tamil Nadu. He said he hoped the monsoon would continue to bring heavy rain, in which case they could give Tamil Nadu its full share – 10 thousand million cubic feet – of Cauvery water.
“Both states will get sufficient water and the farmers’ problems are going to get solved,” he said, according to The Times of India. “I prayed to god to bless us with good rains and we are getting good monsoon. Yesterday I gave directions to engineers in the irrigation department to release water to Tamil Nadu from Kabini reservoir.”
The chief minister was visiting Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai. When asked about Karnataka’s delay in nominating members to the Cauvery Management Board, he said the authority was not useful for everyone, the English daily reported. “Legally we have to respect the constitutional institutions. But if we get sufficient rains, the management issue will not arise,” Kumaraswamy was reported as saying.
On June 1, the Centre had notified the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority in compliance with a Supreme Court order on the water dispute involving Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The dispute over Cauvery water has continued for more than 20 years now, and has worsened in recent years as farmers have been badly affected by lack of rainfall and drought in both states.
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