Shivakumar postpones meeting with Vijay amid protests over Cauvery water sharing

Farmers and Kannada outfits have staged protests against the direction to release 3,500 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days

Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar on Friday announced the postponement of his August 3 meeting with his Tamil Nadu counterpart, C Joseph Vijay, saying the atmosphere over the Cauvery water dispute was unsuitable for talks. He said he would seek another date to discuss the issue in a more cordial setting. The meeting was scheduled on Vijay’s initiative.

“I myself had requested to visit Tamil Nadu, but the [previous] DMK [Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam] government had not given permission. Later, elections took place, and the government changed. Now Vijay has said that he will come to Karnataka with his team. In such a situation, the developments around the protests are not giving us confidence,” Shivakumar said.

Farmers and Kannada outfits have staged protests against the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s (CWMA)’s rejection of Karnataka’s appeal against a direction to release 3,500 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. Demonstrators tore posters of Vijay’s film Jananayagan and forced some theatres to halt its screening.

Shivakumar said Vijay’s visit should take place without the tensions. “We should create an opportunity to resolve this issue through cordiality. If the problem is resolved, it will benefit them as well as us. The atmosphere is not good now, so I will discuss requesting the Tamil Nadu chief minister to postpone our meeting for a few days,” he said.

Shivakumar said both states were seeking to protect their interests and should work towards a solution through dialogue. “If they want to protect the interests of their state, we also want to protect the interests of our state. We are discussing whether this can be resolved through cordiality,” he said.

Shivakumar said Karnataka asked CWMA to reduce the quantity, defer the decision and provide the state more time. He added Tamil Nadu argued that Karnataka was receiving higher inflows and should release more water. “Our appeal has been rejected. An all-party meeting has been called to decide what should be done next. A decision will be taken after the meeting,” Shivakumar said when asked whether Karnataka would immediately release the water.

He said the state would not make its next legal or political decision without consulting legal experts and opposition leaders.

Former chief ministers, opposition leaders, and lawmakers from the Cauvery basin have been invited for the all-party meeting on Sunday. Shivakumar said the legal team and senior officials would present their views at the meeting, after which the government would decide its next course.

Shivakumar said his deputy, G Parameshwar, water resources minister Ramalinga Reddy and he had discussed the matter with officials and the legal team. He added only 0.6 TMC had been released by July end, calling it the lowest in 100 years.

Shivakumar said Karnataka faced similar orders during difficult years in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023. He said rainfall was strong in the past three years. Shivakumar recalled that over 400 TMC of water had flowed from Karnataka last year against 177 TMC, with a large quantity eventually reaching the sea.

He said Karnataka’s reservoirs had stronger inflows in recent days. “Harangi was at 95% storage, Kabini at 83%, KRS at 36% and Hemavathi at 67%. Combined inflows were about 25,000 cusecs. The fact that inflows in the state have recovered is a reassuring matter,” Shivakumar said.

Shivakumar said Tamil Nadu sought 9.94 TMC of water, while the recommendation was roughly half that quantity. He added drinking water supplies would remain protected. “There will be no problem with drinking water. It requires 40 TMC of water, of which 36 TMC is required for drinking and 4 TMC may be lost through evaporation. Any remaining surplus water during a distress situation will be distributed based on the water sharing formula.”