The Karnataka government will hold an emergency and all-party meeting on Wednesday to deliberate on the Supreme Court order to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery River water to Tamil Nadu for three days starting Wednesday.
The SC ruling has come as a setback to Karnataka which moved the court on Monday seeking modification of the September 20 order to release 6,000 cusecs of water for a week on the grounds that that it doesn't have enough water to supply drinking water to major cities in the state. It said that it is not in the position to release water to Tamil Nadu until December.
"The chief minister has convened tomorrow (Wednesday) an all-party meeting followed by a cabinet meeting to discuss and decide on the apex court order, which directed the state to release water despite the assembly passing a resolution against it," an official told IANS.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was on a tour of the rain-hit regions of the state, is not happy with the ruling by Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit earlier on Tuesday.
"We can't release water just because the Supreme Court said so, as we are not in a position to do. Let me first read the full order and come back to you," Siddaramaiah told reporters at Bidar airport.
Hundreds of farmers from Mandya and Mysuru protested on Tuesday after the SC ordered Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu. Security has been tightened in the southern part of the state and prohibitory orders have been extended till Friday to maintain peace.
The dispute over Cauvery water led to violence in Karnataka earlier this month. Police had clamped section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) prohibiting assembly of more than four people in an area and curfew under 16 police stations in Bangalore following riots in the city.
