Ashoka accuses govt of surrendering state’s interests

Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka on Wednesday accused the Karnataka government of failing to protect the state’s interests after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) directed Karnataka to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

Ashoka described the order as a serious setback for Karnataka and alleged that the state government’s “soft approach” and failure to mount an effective legal challenge had weakened its case before the authority. He said the government should have firmly opposed Tamil Nadu’s demand for 20,000 cusecs a day and questioned why it had failed to prevent the release of additional water when Karnataka’s reservoirs were already under pressure.

“When our reservoirs are facing a shortage even for drinking water and farmers are struggling due to inadequate rainfall, agreeing to release around 7.77 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu over 15 days is a betrayal of Kannadigas,” Ashoka said.

He urged the government to stop delaying a decision on challenging the CWMA order and immediately approach the Supreme Court with a strong appeal seeking a stay on the water release.Former chief minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai also criticised the government, alleging that it had failed to take the Cauvery issue seriously. He demanded that Karnataka immediately approach the Supreme Court and appoint a senior special counsel to handle the case.

Bommai said releasing 6,000 cusecs daily for 15 days would mean the state losing nearly 7.5 TMC of water. He pointed out that storage in the Kabini reservoir had already declined significantly, while the KRS reservoir was releasing around 5,000 to 6,000 cusecs daily.

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