Cauvery water dispute | Bommai to Karnataka govt: Prepare distress formula and present it before SC, CWMA

Mandya (K'taka), Oct 2 (PTI) Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday suggested the state government to take the opinion of legal experts, activists, and opposition parties and prepare a distress formula that is acceptable to all, to find a permanent solution to the Cauvery river water row.

The same formula must be presented before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Supreme Court, he said.

The BJP leader said this while speaking at an ongoing agitation by the Raitha Hitarakshana Samithi (farmers' organisation) here against the release of Cauvery water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

"To find a permanent solution to the Cauvery issue, the state government should sit with its legal experts and decide what the distress formula should be, get the opinion of the opposition parties and the activists, and formulate the distress formula. The distress formula should be unanimous," Bommai said.

The government should argue strongly in the Supreme Court about the implementation of the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project. "Even if it doesn't happen immediately, it will benefit the next generation," he said.

Alleging that the state government has been lagging on the Cauvery issue since the beginning, Bommai said they are pretending in the all party meetings that -- they have been able to get orders to release less water to Tamil Nadu-- and it is their major achievement.

If the state government had filed an IA (Interlocutory Application) in the Supreme Court before, there would have been more opportunity to tell them the actual situation, he said.

The former CM also said that if the government had held the ICC (Irrigation Consultative Committee) meeting and released water to the agricultural fields, the farmers of the state would not have faced any problems.

Noting that it's already late, Bommai said the government should immediately discuss the distress formula and the Mekedatu project.

"We are all with the government. We stand by the farmers when the government goes astray... We will continue to support your (farmers) agitation. This fight will be successful," he told farmers.

Former minister R Ashok, MLA Ravi Subramanya, former MLC Ashwath Narayan, former corporators of BBMP, and others were present in the protest. PTI KSU KSU KH