It is time for the short term Kuruvai crop in the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu and the Kaveri River issue is back in the forefront.

The  Kaveri Water Regulation Committee (KWRC) on Thursday asked the Government of Karnataka to release one thousand million cubic feet (TMCFT) of water every day to Tamil Nadu from July 12 to July 31 so that the Kuruvai farming operations in the four districts of the lower riparian State of Tamil Nadu (Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Tiruchirappalli) could be taken up.  But Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ruled out the possibility of the upper riparian State releasing any water to TN before July 31. “Although normal rainfall has been forecast for Karnataka, there is a 28 per cent shortfall in inflow to all the four dams in the Kavery river basin.

There is only 60 TMCFT of water in all the four reservoirs,” Siddaramaiah said immediately after the KWRC directive. The Karnataka Chief Minister has convened an all-party meeting for Sunday evening to take stock of the situation as farming community in Tamil Nadu is agitated over the issue.

At the time of going to Press, the meeting was in progress and sources in Karnataka Government told The Pioneer that the State would approach Kaveri Water Management Authority against the KWRC directive.

Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar, told media persons that the State has lot of issues to be addressed as there is water shortage in the four main reservoirs. “We have to resolve the water shortage in Mandya district and there is severe shortage of drinking water in the State,” said Shivakumar.

As on date, the chances of Karnataka releasing more water to Tamil Nadu look bleak. The opposition BJP and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu has pulled up the DMK government led by M K Stalin for its callous attitude towards the problems faced by the farmers in the State.

Arupathi Kalyanam, Kaveri Delta Farmers Welfare Association told The Pioneer that Karnataka has sufficient water to spare but the State is “playing politics”.

During the KWRC meeting, Karnataka stated that the cumulative inflow into its four reservoirs from June 1 to July 9 was 41.651 tmcft and the shortfall was 28.71%.

Shivakumar, who holds the department of water resources said the State does not have water to spare. “We do not have water. There is no water, no rain, let us pray for rain,” said the Karnataka strongman.

Shivakumar said Karnataka does not have water even to fill its tanks. The inflow into the reservoirs in its Kauvery basin is poor, he added.

The Delta region, as these districts are known, has an area of 14.5 lakh hectares of farm land and is dependent on water from Kaveri River, the lifeline of Tamil Nadu. According to the  final verdict of the Kaveri Water Dispute Tribunal,  Karnataka has to release 192 TMCFT water every year to Tamil Nadu to meet the latter’s irrigation requirements.