Bangalore: Faced with deepening Cauvery crisis, Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna
is holding an emergency Cabinet session and all-party meeting on October 5 to plan
the next move in the wake of the Supreme Court again asking the state to release 0.8
TMC ft of waters daily to Tamil Nadu.
The apex court decision on October 4 asking Karnataka to fall in line with the
Cauvery River Authority (CRA) directive has thrown up a fresh problem for Krishna
who has virtually ruled out the possibility of sparing water to Tamil Nadu.
After discussing the matter with his ministerial colleagues, Krishna would elicit
the opinion of Opposition leaders on tackling the ticklish issue of complying with
the court directive, which has sparked off violent protests in
Mandya district in the Cauvery belt.
Krishna has already virtually ruled out release of water from its reservoirs to
Tamil Nadu and is now looking to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to convene an
emergency meeting of the CRA of which he is the chairman.
Within hours of the Supreme Court decision becoming known, protesters in Mandya
district took to the streets, blocking Bangalore-Mysore traffic, leaving hundreds of
people stranded, and setting fire to the engine of "Swarna Jayanti Express" bound
for Delhi.
Krishna and Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge have reviewed the law and order
situation in the light of the fresh developments with senior police officials. A
tight security arrangement is in place in Mandya and Mysore districts.
The committee spearheading the Cauvery agitation is also meeting to decide on its
next course of action but has made it clear that under no circumstances should water
be released to Tamil Nadu.
PTI
