Bangalore: Karnataka Cabinet on September 4 decided to honour the directive of the Supreme Court, which has asked the state to release 1.25 TMC ft of Cauvery water daily to Tamil Nadu.

Briefing reporters after an emergent Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister S M Krishna said it was also decided to plead with the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to convene an immediate meeting of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to solve the issue taking into account the availability of water in the four reservoirs of the Cauvery basin in the state.

Reading out a statement, Krishna said the government was committed to protecting the interest of the farmers under the present situation under any circumstances and that was its primary concern.

"It would not be possible to sacrifice the interests of farmers under any circumstances", the statement said.

The Cabinet arrived at the decision based on the "consensus" evolved at an all-party meeting, which considered the pros and cons of the situation that prevailed in the wake of September 4 Supreme Court directive asking the state to release water until the next CRA meeting.

Krishna said the opinion of legal and technical experts were also elicited.

The Cabinet he said considered the issue and ratified the consensus decision arrived at the all-party meet.

The statement also appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and harmony.

Krishna confined himself to reading out the prepared statement and refused to take questions, when asked whether the water was being released and from when.

Karnataka Water Resources Minister H K Patil, said the statement made by the Chief Minister was "self explanatory" and contained all details.

The decision was taken after almost a day-long discussions, which saw two Cabinet meetings with an all-party meeting held in between.

PTI