The ongoing Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has resulted in both sides lashing out at each other. On 31 October, TN Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan told media persons that the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) had asked Karnataka to release 2,600 cusecs of water every day for 15 days.
He stated, “We have asked for 16,000 cusecs of water daily for 15 days. But, the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee, which held a meeting on Monday, recommended the Karnataka government to release 2,600 cusecs. We will appeal to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) which will convene a meeting in Delhi on 3 November to release 16,000 cusecs of water. If justice is not delivered there, we will take a legal course of action and file a case in the Supreme Court.”
Duraimurugan added that Karnataka was fighting with Tamil Nadu like an “enemy state”. He said, “The present government in Karnataka conducts itself as though it is fighting with an enemy nation. It thinks that Tamil Nadu is asking for some concessions. This is not true. The people of the country have to abide by the judgment of the Supreme Court. A state government defying orders of the Supreme Court will not bode well for democracy.”
The Minister said that he did not think that the CWMA and CWRC were acting with any partiality but that “they were lethargic in this issue”.
Duraimurugan has been in Tamil Nadu politics for many decades and he told reporters how he had been involved in the Cauvery water row for about 20 years now alongside numerous chief ministers.