The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) has issued a recommendation for Karnataka to adjust its Cauvery water release schedule, reducing the release from 5000 cusecs to 3000 cusecs at Biligundlu, effective from September 28 to October 15, 2023. This decision follows discussions during the 87th meeting of CWRC in New Delhi, where representatives from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu presented their cases before the committee.
Karnataka’s submission to the committee highlighted a significant 53.04 percent shortfall in cumulative inflows to the state’s four reservoirs until September 25. It also emphasized that the Karnataka government had declared 161 Talukas as severely drought-affected and 34 Talukas as moderately drought-affected, with a substantial portion falling within the Cauvery basin. This circumstance was emphasized to underscore the critical considerations that the committee needed to address.
Additionally, Karnataka expressed its inability to release water from its reservoirs or contribute to the flows at the interstate border of Biligundlu due to these drought conditions.
Tamil Nadu urged CWRC to compel Karnataka to release the shortfall quantity immediately and maintain further flows according to the distress proportion. It also called for Karnataka to reduce its irrigation supply in line with the distress proportion.
Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the opposition parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular), of politicizing the Cauvery water-sharing issue. Siddaramaiah expressed his disappointment, asserting that the parties were prioritizing political interests over the welfare of the people of the state.
He also reiterated the need for the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to implement a distress formula for water sharing during periods of water scarcity. Siddaramaiah pointed out that no such formula had been put into practice, despite appeals, and stressed its necessity when rainfall is insufficient.
The CWRC’s decision coincided with a day of protest in Bengaluru organized by various organizations in response to the CWMA’s directive to release water. Protests have also taken place in Trichy and other regions of Tamil Nadu, particularly in the Cauvery delta, where farmers have expressed concerns about the availability of water for Kurai (Paddy Crop) Cultivation.
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