An all-party meeting on the Cauvery River water dispute, convened by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, began at the Chief Minister's official residence, 'Krishna', in Bengaluru on Sunday, with leaders across party lines participating to discuss the state's strategy on the contentious water-sharing issue.
The Congress government is expected to take a final decision on the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu after the deliberations.
The meeting comes days after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee's (CWRC) directive asking Karnataka to release 3,500 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, rejecting the state's appeal.
The meeting, chaired by Shivakumar, was attended by six former Chief Ministers -- Veerappa Moily, Siddaramaiah, B.S. Yediyurappa, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, D.V. Sadananda Gowda and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai.
Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara, Union Ministers V. Somanna and Shobha Karandlaje, KPCC President B.K. Hariprasad, State Ministers Ramalinga Reddy, K.J. George, Krishna Byre Gowda and M.B. Patil, Karnataka's Special Representative in New Delhi T.B. Jayachandra, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, MP Govind Karjol, former Minister H.K. Patil, retired judge Nagamohan Das, Chief Minister's Special Adviser G.C. Chandrashekar, Economic Adviser L.K. Atheeq, Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
In his opening remarks, Shivakumar said the Cauvery dispute was neither new to the government nor to the people of Karnataka.
"The Cauvery dispute is not new to us. We have all grown up with this issue," he said, stressing that the interests of Karnataka's farmers and people were more important than politics.
Reiterating the government's stand, Shivakumar said protecting drinking water remained the state's foremost priority. "Our stand is that drinking water should receive the highest priority. I know that all of you fully support this position," he said, adding that Karnataka has a long tradition of political parties setting aside differences and standing united whenever the state's interests are at stake.
The Chief Minister said that before the CWRC and CWMA meetings, he had met Union Ministers C.R. Patil, Pralhad Joshi and V. Somanna, besides former Chief Ministers Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar, to explain Karnataka's concerns. He thanked them for raising the state's issues with the Centre.
He also noted that during a meeting of Karnataka Members of Parliament in New Delhi, leaders across party lines had assured the state government of their support in safeguarding Karnataka's interests.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar appealed to organisations protesting against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu to withdraw their agitation, saying it was impossible to hold back water once a reservoir reaches full capacity.
Speaking to reporters at Mysuru Airport on Saturday, he said the Kabini reservoir was rapidly filling up and the government would have no option but to release water once it reached its storage limit.
"The Kabini reservoir is filling up. Once a dam is full, water has to be released. It is not possible to hold it back," he said, urging protesters not to gather near release points as strong currents could pose a serious threat to life.
Shivakumar said officials were providing hourly updates on the reservoir, with inflows touching 40,000 cusecs. "Nature does not belong to anyone. Even if we decide not to release water, it cannot be retained once the reservoir is full," he added.
He said there were no valid grounds for a Karnataka bandh, while maintaining that democratic protests should always be respected.
Referring to the Supreme Court's order directing Karnataka to release 177 TMC of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, Shivakumar said the state must respect the verdict while protecting the interests of its farmers.
He noted that previous governments led by S. Bangarappa, S.M. Krishna, H.D. Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah had also taken decisions based on prevailing circumstances. He added that Karnataka had not even released half the quantity of water compared to previous situations, yet its request before the CWMA was rejected.
The Chief Minister accused the BJP of politicising the issue and said leaders in Tamil Nadu were also pursuing political interests.
Highlighting another development, Shivakumar said Karnataka had secured a significant legal victory in the Supreme Court on the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir project. He also said Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil had convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on the Tungabhadra river, where a decision was taken to construct a balancing reservoir.
The all-party meeting is expected to finalise Karnataka's legal and administrative strategy on the Cauvery water-sharing dispute and formulate a united stand to safeguard the state's interests.
