TN demands 16,000 cusecs of Cauvery water; CWMA orders less than 1/5th

CHENNAI: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has ordered Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from October 16.

The order was passed in the 26th meeting of the CWMA, which took place under the chairmanship of the authority chairman S K Haldar in New Delhi on Friday.

Tamil Nadu, which was represented by Sandeep Saxena, Principal Secretary of the State Irrigation Minister, and R Subramaniam, Chairman of Cauvery Technical Cell and members of the cell in the meeting, urged the CWMA to order the release of 16,000 cusecs at Biliguntulu to Tamil Nadu. However, the authority ordered Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs to TN for 15 days from ensuing Monday.

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan told media persons here that the Tamil Nadu government would strongly fight for the release of 14,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water by Karnataka to the State.

Stating that farmers relying only on the water from the Mettur Dam have taken up Kuruvai crop (short-term) cultivation in the delta districts and in certain pockets in Thanjavur district in anticipation of steady discharge of Cauvery water from neighbouring Karnataka have also taken up the Samba (long-duration) paddy crop. However, their hopes of realising a good yield appear bleak owing to the water level in the Mettur reservoir nearing dead storage.

"Tamil Nadu would present its case at Friday's meeting of the CWMA and strongly argue for the release of 14,000 cusecs of water to save the standing crops in the delta districts", Duraimurugan added.