Deve Gowda backs CM, will write to PM

Supporting the defiant stand of the state government, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda on Friday said,”It is impossible for Karnataka to obey the CRA orders to release 9,000 cusecs of water daily till October 15 to Tamil Nadu.” He said he will be writing to prime minister Manmohan Singh and urge him to understand the ground realities in the state.

Appreciating chief minister Jagadish Shettar for walking out of the CRA meeting in protest against orders to release water to Tamil Nadu, when Karnataka was facing a severe drought in over 120 talukas, Gowda said that he would explain the water crisis being faced by the state and poor storage of water in various reservoirs of the Cauvery basin.

“The prime minister would not have issued such an unfair direction if he was aware of the drought situation in the state, agricultural needs of our farmers and the need for ensuring drinking water supply for Bangalore and other towns,”Gowda said.
The former prime minister said Singh should have sent experts to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to assess the rainfall, crop conditions, storage in reservoirs and water needs of both the states before issuing any orders on release of water.

“The Prime Minister’s order now has done grave injustice to Karnataka. Even now it is not too late. The prime minister should send a team of experts to both the states and review the CRA order,” Gowda demanded.

Tamil Nadu is trying to get water for three crops in a year, while farmers in Karnataka are not assured of even a single crop due to drought. Indulging in politics over Cauvery waters had been the favourite practice of Tamil Nadu politicians. They have succeeded in spreading the view that Karnataka had not respect for court orders and CRA over the Cauvery issue, Gowda argued.