By getting the Tamil Nadu assembly to act on his very imaginative public declaration to keep petro-chemical industries out of the Cauvery delta, which has traditionally been a DMK stronghold, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has not only set the ball rolling for the assembly elections due a year later but also sent out a strong message to the BJP government at the Centre, which took a unilateral decision to exempt petro-complexes from environmental clearance, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Leading an agitation at the Egmore Railway station in Chennai, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko and VCK Chief Thol Thirumavalavan, along with several workers including those from the Left parties, blocked an express train.
Inducted into the government only a few months ago, he said he would announce his future plans on joining the ongoing Cauvery agitation in a day or two.
The opposition Congress and Janata Dal Secular on Tuesday made a forceful plea in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly against notification of the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award, underlining that the move would amount to grave injustice to the State's interests.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday urged the state government not to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, as mandated by the Supreme Court, though it would amount to contempt of its order.
"Despite severe hardships faced by the government of Karnataka, the state will release water as directed by the Supreme Court," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
Karnataka on Friday pleaded its inability in supplying Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu in line with the Supreme Court's directive saying the state itself is facing a shortage of drinking water.
The Tamil Nadu government has approached the Supreme Court over the Cauvery river water dispute and sought 10 TMC water immediately from Karnataka. "Karnataka has received 26 TMC water in the past ten days and our proportionate share of 10 TMC should be released immediately," says the petition.
The award fails on some crucial tests of equity, efficiency, technology and science, says water expert Himanshu Thakkar.
The water stoppage to Tamil Nadu came after Karnataka said it will file a review petition on Tuesday before Cauvery River Authority headed by the Prime Minister who made known his position to Congress and BJP delegations which met him separately seeking review of CRA's September 19 directive.
Karnataka on Thursday night began releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu from the Krishna Raja Sagar Reservoir as per a Supreme Court directive.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Cauvery Monitoring Committee to examine and make recommendations on all issues likely to be raised by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of water of river Cauvery at the panel's scheduled meeting on Wednesday.
In the final award, Tamil Nadu will get 217 tmc ft of water -- 192 tmc ft from Biligundulu and 25 tmc ft for envrionmental purposes between Biligundulu and Mettur.
Thousands of police personnel have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order.
Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the September 19 order of the Cauvery River Authority, headed by the PM, on release of water to Tamil Nadu, and said it had no basis and was an "injustice" to the state.
There are protests galore in Karnataka over the Cauvery water release issue and there appears to be no solution in sight with farmers only intensifying their protest with each passing day.
Even as Karnataka continues to release water to Tamil Nadu as per the directive of the Cauvery River Waters Authority, all the members of Legislative Assembly from the Janata Dal-Secular have tendered their resignations against this move by the Karnataka government.
In good news for farmers of Cauvery delta region in Tamil Nadu facing a grim crop situation due to drought like condition, Karnataka has released over 12,000 cusecs of water into the inter-state river with the Kabini dam surplusing following heavy rains in its catchment areas.
The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Prime Minister's Office for the way it was dealing with the Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The Centre's lawyer told the court that he needed time to file a proper reply on this issue and the date for convening the Cauvery River Authority, headed by the prime minister, has not been fixed.
Jayalalithaa, recuperating at a corporate hospital in Chennai, said she could not attend the meeting as she was hospitalised.
The Supreme Court also asked the supervisory committee to decide on Tamil Nadu's plea in ten days from Monday.
Stepping up pressure, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked the Centre to notify the final order of the Cauvery tribunal for ensuring release of water by Karnataka to save withering crops in the state during this distress year.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Bangalore that the state was not in a position to release water as its people faced a "severe distress" situation
Normal life in Karnataka is likely to be affected on Saturday as pro-Kannada outfits have called for a statewide dawn-to-dusk bandh to protest Tamil Nadu's opposition to Mekedatu drinking water project across the inter-state river Cauvery.
Upping the ante against Karnataka for its refusal to release Cauvery water, Tamil Nadu has decided to file a contempt petition in Supreme Court besides seeking a direction for setting up two regulatory bodies to implement the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's final award.
Awaiting the outcome of a meeting convened by the Centre, Karnataka Cabinet on Wednesday decided to defer till Thursday a decision on release of 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu as per the Supreme Court direction.
It is not possible for Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu 'for now' as the state is facing drought and acute drinking water scarcity, Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Sunday.
The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that it will not interfere with the Cauvery Monitoring Committee's order directing Karnataka to provide Tamil Nadu with 12 Thousand Million Cubic of Cauvery water during December despite both warring states expressing dissatisfaction over the award.
Protests rocked the Cauvery river basin district of Karnataka for the second day on Monday over release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu with police taking about 100 people into custody after they squatted on tracks and detained the Mysore-Shirdi express at Gejjalagere village.
Considering that the Supreme Court has now included two, rather three, new variable to the tribunal's findings, it could imply that whenever the current order comes in for review, the two states could raise specific issues flowing from them, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
In Mandya, the heartland of Cauvery, protesters took out a march with 28 sheep, depicting them as members of parliament, decrying their silence.
In its plea, Karnataka had said its reservoirs are dry and it can only release water to Tamil Nadu by the end of the year.
The Karnataka government has convened an all party meeting in Bangalore on Tuesday to finalise its stand on the cauvery river water sharing issue at the upcoming Cauvery River Authority (CRA) meet.
'Ours is an unrecognised body. From politicians to the tribunal, nobody has acknowledged us. Nobody is even willing to talk to us. We have not been invited to any meeting. Even if we come out with a solution, who will implement it,' asks Prof S Janakarajan, the man behind Cauvery Family
Asked whether Tamil Nadu wanted early notification of the final award, he said that after the stipulated 90 days time, the state would insist on the Tribunal for the speedy implementation of the final award.
Farmers and pro-Kannada outfit activists protested in various parts of Karnataka against the Supreme Court direction to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
Charging Karnataka with "unjustly utilising" Cauvery water for summer irrigation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmhohan Singh to convene a meeting of the Cauvery river authority to discuss the issue.
Meeting for the first in nine years, Cauvery River Authority session on Wednesday is expected to be a stormy affair with Tamil Nadu set to demand more water from Cauvery river to save its standing crops while Karnataka will seek a new policy to share water.
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