New Delhi: The Centre on September 20 asked Karnataka to honour the decision of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) that directed release of 0.8 TMC feet of water to Tamil Nadu.

After a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi urged Karnataka "to honour the decision of the CRA as agreed to by them (Karnataka and Tamil Nadu)".

Sethi said he was asked by the Prime Minister to contact Karnataka government for ensuring release of water.

He has also sent a communication to Karnataka government asking it to honour the CRA decision taken on September 8 under which Karnataka should release 9,000 CUSECS of water at Mettur amounting to 0.8 TMC ft of water accounted on weekly average basis for September and October.

Sethi told reporters that there was no reason why Karnataka should stop release of the water since it had agreed earlier.

The Minister's appeal came in the wake of Karnataka governmetn's decision to stop release of water following suicide by a farmer who jumped into the Cauvery river reservoir on September 18 in protest against allowing water to Tamil Nadu, which is moving the Supreme Court against Karnataka.

PTI