Karnataka releases Cauvery water to TN

The Karnataka government began releasing water from the Cauvery to Tamil Nadu before dawn on Sunday, as mandated by the Supreme Court and the Cauvery River Authority headed by the Prime Minister.

The release of water came after a strong reprimand by the SC for failing to adhere to the CRA directive to release 9000 cusecs of water from September 20 to October 15.

Pro-Karnataka groups staged protests in the Cauvery basin on Sunday. Public transportation between Bangalore and Mysore was affected and movement of buses to Tamil Nadu was stopped to prevent untoward incidents. The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike called a bandh on October 6.

The release of water to Tamil Nadu began after the BJP government held an all party meeting and decided to release the water at night to prevent upheaval in the Cauvery basin area, which has had deficient rainfall this monsoon. Around 7300 cusecs of water was released from the Krishna Raja Sagar and Kabini reservoirs to the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu by dawn.

The Karnataka government decided to release water before moving to file review petitions before the CRA and the SC. "The release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu was unavoidable. We are complying with the SC's order. A Special Leave Petition has been filed before the SC and in another two to three days we will file a review petition,'' Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said, while asking people to maintain peace and order.

Shettar said a Central monitoring committee for the Cauvery dispute would visit Karnataka on October 8.

Deputy CM K S Eshwarappa said the government was in a difficult predicament after the SC order, since there is a water shortage. Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai claimed the PM's decision at the CRA for water release was far removed from ground realities.

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