KRS inflows down to zero, says Shivakumar

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said that Karnataka would find it difficult to meet the latest Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC’s) to release 2,600 cusecs of water from November 1 to 15, adding that the inflows into Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) reservoir had reached zero.

Karnataka had asked the CWRC to report to CWMA that in the light of almost zero inflows into four reservoirs, Karnataka would not be able to release any water from its reservoirs so as to reach Biligundlu water measuring station in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu responded that Karnataka should release 13,000 cusecs for next 15 days, which works out to 16.90 thousand million cubic feet (tmfct).

CWRC had recommended that Karnataka needs to ensure releases from its reservoirs so that the flows at 2,600 cusecs are realised at Biligundlu starting from November 1 to 15.

“Cauvery inflows into KRS have reached zero. Water around 815 cusecs have been flowing into KRS and Kabini naturally and only 51 tmcft of water is available in the Cauvery catchment area. Drinking water should be conserved. We can only pray to God that it should rain so that water may flow downstream. Now, we don’t have any water,” Shivakumar told mediapersons.

State govt failed: Revanna

Meanwhile Opposition JD(S) has stepped up their pressure on the State government as Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna claimed that the State government had failed to protect the interests of the farmers of Karnataka.

“The government has completely failed to protect the interests of the farmers of the state,” Revanna said, alleging that Congress had sacrificed the farmers’ interests to protect their political interests vis a vis Tamil Nadu.

The ruling DMK of the neighbouring state is a pan-India alliance partner of the Grand Old Party. He also called upon the State government to adequately compensate farmers who had suffered crop losses, besides releasing water to save the remaining crops.

Revanna made the comments at a press conference in Hassan.

JD(S) and Congress are locked in a battle for the Vokkaliga heartland of Old Mysuru, a region where the Grand Old Party had finished as the single largest party in the May Assembly elections. The interest of the farmer is likely to feature heavily in future polls as well.