Parties alert state on Mekedatu

PMK chief S Ramadoss in a statement said that Karnataka has submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Central Water Commission on June 7 for constructing a dam at Mekedatu. The PMK leader alleged that Karnataka had sought the nod for the project by submitting “false details.”

Moreover, Ramadoss said, “Karnataka had told the Centre in its DPR that it could release water for Tamil Nadu, in accordance with the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s (CWDT) award, only if the proposed dam was built.” He noted that Karnataka had also said in the report that the water would be drawn from the new dam only, as per the tribunal’s final award. 

“All these assurances were given to deceive the CWC and the Tamil Nadu government and they cannot be believed,” added Ramadoss. “The state government should be alert on this issue and defeat such attempts by Karnataka,” he stressed. 

Meanwhile, General Secretary of MDMK Vaiko insisted that the Centre should not support Karnataka in constructing the check dam. In a statement, he said, “Karnataka is continuously ignoring the judgment of Supreme Court on the Cauvery issue and the state is not receiving a drop of water from Karnataka. 

“Twelve lakh hectares of land in the Cauvery basin will become barren if the new dams are built,” he alleged. 

2,000 cusecs released into Cauvery from Krishnaraja Sagar 

Farmers in Karnataka protested against the release of Cauvery water from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) Dam to Tamil Nadu by blocking traffic on the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway on Sunday. 

Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited Executive Engineer K Basavaraje Gowda said as much as 2,000 cusecs of water had been released from KRS Dam on Sunday. On June 29 night, 3,000 cusecs was released, he added. 

“Traffic was affected for a brief period after farmers blocked Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway. They were protesting against release of Cauvery water from KRS Dam to Tamil Nadu,” Mandya Additional Superintendent of Police B N Lavanya said. 

The farmers staged protests at Gajalagere and Ilavala villages on the highway and accused the Karnataka government of releasing water, instead of taking steps to increase the storage level at KRS Dam, she added. On June 30, too farmers and pro-Karnataka outfits staged protests.