Bangalore: Karnataka government on August 13 expressed the hope of reaching a consensus on distressing sharing of Cauvery waters for the current season between the state and Tami Nadu in "the next one or two meetings" of the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC).

"In the next one or two meetings, we should be able to reach a consensus", Karnataka Chief Secretary B S Patil, who attended the CMC meeting on August 7 at Delhi, told reporters.

He said it would be the state's endeavour to arrive at a consensus but added emphatically that it would be done so without compromising on the interests of the state farmers.

Tamil Nadu, Patil said, had understood the distress in the basin areas but wanted release of some water out of the available storage to protect crops in its delta region.

At the August 7 meeting, some areas of agreement had been identified but differences continued on certain issues, including the water release point. Tamil Nadu insists that the point of measurement should be Mettur but Karnataka says it should be Biligundlu, where the Central Water Commission has its gauging station.

PTI