“Why is it necessary for us to satisfy dictates of Cauvery board?”: HDK questions Cong ‘silence’ on water sharing issue

Bengaluru: Amid the furore around the sharing of Cauvery water, Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Friday asked the Congress-led government in Karnataka to clear its stand vis-a-vis the release of the river water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu at a time when farmers in the state were grappling with a water crisis.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Friday, Kumaraswamy said, "At a time when our farmers are facing an acute water shortage, why is it necessary for us to satisfy the dictates of the Cauvery Water Management Board?"
"Tamil Nadu government approached the Supreme Court (seeking the release of Cauvery water). What is the Karnataka government's position on this? Why are our Congress friends silent on this issue," the former CM questioned.
Earlier, on Friday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai, waded in on the issue saying that the Tamil Nadu government will fight for "every drop" of the Cauvery River. 
"Had the Cauvery water management board been formed, the control of the reservoir would have been vested in it. They have formed another makeshift organisation that does not have control over the reservoirs. We will never give up on the right of the Tamil Nadu people and will fight for every drop of Cauvery water," the DMK spokesperson said. 
Earlier Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said it will request the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to reconsider its decision on sharing water with Tamil Nadu. 
Shivakumar said the CWMA has instructed the Karnataka government to release 10,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu over the next 15 days at a time when the state was grappling with water shortage.
Meanwhile, weighing in on the issue, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said the Congress government has betrayed farmers in the state as it did not put forward their plight before the Cauvery Water Management Authority.
"Congress govt has betrayed the farmers, especially those inhabiting the Cauvery river basin. They did not fight their case before the CWMA. Now, they should stand up for our farmers before the Supreme Court and argue our case on merit rather than meekly surrendering to the authority and giving away water (to Tamil Nadu). This is dhokha (betrayal) with our farmers," former CM Bommai said.
The Kaveri is an interstate basin that originates in Karnataka and passes through Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry before draining into the Bay of Bengal.
The total watershed of the Cauveri basin is 81,155 sq km, of which the river’s catchment area is about 34,273 sq km in Karnataka, 2,866 sq km in Kerala and the remaining 44,016 sq km in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. (ANI)