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Krishna ends padayatra; moots a national water policy

Sadananda R in Chamarajanagar

Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna on Saturday, addressing a public rally at Mandya marking the conclusion of his week-long padayatra, assured the farmers of the state that their interests would be taken care of by his government.

Referring to the Cauvery water dispute between his state and Tamil Nadu, he said, "Only the rain gods can give a solution to this problem. But we need to settle this problem in the interest of both the states."

"Unless a national water policy is formulated, problems of this nature will be alive forever," he added. He said the message from the padayatra was one of 'peaceful coexistence'.

"We are part of this nation, which is bigger than us. There should not be hatred among fellow states. This not good in the interest of the country," he said. "So this padayatra is my sincere attempt to bring down the violence and to establish peace in the Cauvery basin."

Referring to the Supreme Court order, he said, "People say that I am not respecting the Supreme Court by not implementing its order. I respect the Constitution and the Supreme Court. But I am not releasing water, as we have no water in our reservoirs. I cannot deceive my farmers and hence I am not releasing water now. If court asks me to go to jail, I am prepared to do that. I will not think twice before protecting my farmers' rights."

Calling his padayatra 'non-political', Krishna said this was his way of telling the people that the government was with them. "When the government has come forward and taken your side, than why should there be any violence?" he questioned.

"I want to you to maintain peace in the Cauvery basin. The government is not going to release water at any cost," Krishna reiterated.

After the rally, Krishna visited the Krishna Raja Sagar dam with his ministers and party leaders.

After reaching the dam, Krishna offered puja to the Cauvery river.

After that the Karnataka chief minister visited the Kabini reservoir to check the water level.

Cauvery Water Dispute: The Complete Coverage

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