'Karnataka govt is in a quandary on issue of Cauvery River water distribution'

BENGALURU: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the state government is in a quandary on the issue of Cauvery River water distribution adding that the lawyers who were representing the state did not argue its case properly in front of the Supreme Court.

"Karnataka government is in a quandary on the issue of Cauvery River water distribution.The consequences of this have now come out. Our BJP lawyers argued in favour of the state government. Have seen the proceedings. The lawyer for the state government has not argued properly," former CM Bommai said while addressing reporters in Bengaluru.

He further stated that protests will be held in the upcoming days on the Cauvery Water row.

"So far, they have not told how much Cauvery water has been used in Tamil Nadu. We have already protested in Mandya, Chamarajanagar, and Bengaluru on the Cauvery issue. We are going to discuss the next protest in today's meeting," he said. Reacting to the claims made by Bommai that lawyers did not fight this case properly, Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar said," We hired the same lawyers as former CMs like HD Kumaraswamy, Basavaraj Bommai, BS Yeddyurappa."

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the order of Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to Karnataka on releasing 5,000 cusecs of water every day for now to Tamil Nadu. A bench of Justices BR Gavai, PS Narasimha and Prashant Kumar Mishra while refusing to interfere in the Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu said both CWMA and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) are regularly meeting and monitoring the water requirements every 15 days.

Karnataka in its application stated, "This water year of 2023-24 has begun on a bad note. The south-west monsoon which feeds the catchment in Karnataka has failed miserably. Even at the reservoir level, which covers a part of the catchment, the shortfall is 53.42 per cent. If the shortfall is considered up to the inter-State border Biligundulu, where flows are accountable, shortfall and distress would be much more than 53.42 per cent."

The matter has been a controversial issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for decades and they have been locked in battle over the sharing of water from the Cauvery river, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for millions of people in the region. The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry with respect to the water-sharing capacities.