Kannada parties reject Cauvery verdict

Bangalore: The dispute over the Cauvery Tribunal’s verdict on the sharing of river waters continues to create ripples in Karnataka.

The state government has decided to challenge the tribunal verdict on sharing of Cauvery waters with Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy called an all- party meet in Bangalore on Saturday to decide the legal course of action against the order.

This is the second all party meeting on the issue this month. The first such meeting was inconclusive. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been at loggerheads for several decades now on sharing of the Cauvery river waters. The Cauvery tribunal verdict is seen by Karnataka as a grave “injustice” to them.

In its February 5 order, the Tribunal had asked Karnataka to release 192 TMC feet water to Tamil Nadu every year from the Bili-gundlu gauging station. This is 12 TMC feet more than what was released in the last 15 years.

Earlier, on Thursday, the CM had held a meeting of MPs of the state and Union ministers representing Karnataka in New Delhi. The meeting had been called to secure the ministers' support on raising the issue in the Parliament and fight for Karnataka's cause.

The members of all parties are yet to decide whether they will make an appeal in the higher court or ask for a review in the tribunal. The action will be taken within 3 months.

Politicos had described the final award of the Cauvery Tribunal as a "death warrant" on the people of the Karnataka in general and farmers of the Cauvery basin in particular.

"The verdict is like serving the death warrant on the people of the state and more so on farmers of Cauvery basin,” Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said in the Assembly when Vatal Nagaraj of Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha demanded that the government spell out its stand on the issue.

The state could challenge the verdict before the Supreme Court or seek relief from the Tribunal itself, he said.