Chennai, Sep 17 (PTI) A delegation led by Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan would call on Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on Monday to urge him to direct Karnataka to release the state’s due share of Caurvery water, the government said on Sunday.
The decision to call on the union minister comes in the backdrop of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka engaging in a tussle over the release of Cauvery water by the neighbouring state, as per the Supreme Court and Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
Chief Minister M K Stalin had said on Saturday that all party MPs from Tamil Nadu would present a memorandum to the Union Jal Shakti Minister, urging the Centre to advise Karnataka to release Cauvery water to the state.
An official release on Sunday said that the delegation would meet Shekhawat on September 18 evening.
Besides Duraimurugan, the delegation would comprise senior DMK leader T R Baalu, AIADMK’s M Thambidurai and N Chandrasekharan, as well as leaders from the CPI, CPM, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), and PMK, apart from MDMK Chief Vaiko and Tamil Maanila Congress leader G K Vasan among others.
Tamil Nadu, as of September 14, received only 38.4 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet), as against 103.5 tmc ft, with a shortfall of 65.1 tmc ft.
Stalin had blamed Karnataka for making unsubstantiated claims and for writing to the Centre against Tamil Nadu’s request for water.
Karnataka issued statements claiming that Tamil Nadu’s demand for water is unfair and that it has “increased its ayacut (area under irrigation)”. PTI VIJ ANE
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