CHENNAI: Alleging that the Karnataka government agreed to release 8,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu only to drain excess water from its dams, PMK founder S Ramadoss urged the Tamil Nadu government to seek 20,000 cusecs through the intervention of the Supreme Court.
In a statement, the senior leader said that despite the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directing Karnataka to release 11,500 cusecs (1 TMC) of water for Kuruvai (short-term) crop cultivation in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Sunday that they were ready to release only 8,000 cusecs of water.
"Siddaramaiah's claims of low storage in dams are untrue. The 4 dams across the Cauvery River in Karnataka have 77 TMC of water as of Sunday. This is 68 percent storage. Moreover, the dams are receiving 3.15 TMC of water every day," Ramadoss pointed out.
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Claiming that the release of 8,000 cusecs was announced only for draining water from fast-filling dams, Ramadoss urged the Tamil Nadu government to not be silent. "This is an example of the DMK government forsaking the rights of Tamil Nadu. They should not remain a spectator on the issue. Measures should be taken to convene a Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting in two days," the PMK leader demanded.
Ramadoss also requested the state government to approach the Supreme Court and seek the release of 20,000 cusecs from the Cauvery.