Puthiya Tamizhagam chief urges TN all-party meet on Cauvery, seek PM intervention
K. Krishnasamy, founder of the Puthiya Thamizhagam party, on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu Government to convene an all-party meeting on the Cauvery water dispute and lead a delegation of political parties, farmers' organisations, and civil society representatives to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek a permanent solution.
Addressing a press conference in Coimbatore, Mr. Krishnasamy said Karnataka had failed to release Tamil Nadu's due share of Cauvery water for May, June, and July, resulting in the loss of kuruvai cultivation across lakhs of acres in the delta districts. He noted that drinking water shortages and difficulties faced by livestock had also aggravated the situation in the region.
The Cauvery water dispute, a long-standing inter-state river sharing issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, has been a recurring source of tension. Several adjudications and court orders have attempted to address the allocation of water, but the implementation during periods of deficit rainfall remains contentious.
Mr. Krishnasamy criticised the Karnataka Government's efforts to construct a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu across the Cauvery. He said Tamil Nadu should seek a Central Government assurance that no new dam or barrage would be permitted across the river in Karnataka without Tamil Nadu's consent.
He also demanded that the authority to regulate and release Cauvery water should be vested with an independent body rather than the Karnataka Government. According to him, Tamil Nadu should receive its due share based on the water available in Karnataka's reservoirs, irrespective of drought conditions. This, he argued, would ensure a more equitable and transparent mechanism.
The leader criticised the State government for declining to convene an all-party meeting on the Cauvery issue while holding one on the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. 'The Cauvery issue affects the food security and livelihood of millions of people in the delta. It should not be treated as an ordinary political issue,' he said.
He alleged that the State government was reluctant to exert pressure on Karnataka because of political considerations and warned that any failure to protect Tamil Nadu's interests in the Cauvery dispute would become a 'historical mistake'. His remarks come at a time when farmer protests and public concern over water availability have been rising in the delta region.
On the separate issue of delimitation, Mr. Krishnasamy said Tamil Nadu should seek constitutional and legal safeguards to ensure that States were not adversely affected by the redistribution of Parliamentary constituencies based on population. He stressed that the State should build a consensus on the issue instead of merely opposing delimitation. The proposed delimitation process, which may alter the number of seats in Parliament, has raised concerns in southern States about reduced political representation.
